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Competition among high-frequency traders, and market quality

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  • Breckenfelder, Johannes

Abstract

We study empirically how competition among high-frequency traders (HFTs) affects their trading behavior and market quality. Our analysis exploits a unique dataset, which allows us to compare environments with and without high-frequency competition, and contains an exogenous event - a tick size reform - which we use to disentangle the effects of the rising share of high-frequency trading in the market from the effects of high-frequency competition. We find that when HFTs compete, their speculative trading increases. As a result, market liquidity deteriorates and short-term volatility rises. Our findings hold for a variety of market quality and high-frequency trading behavior measures. JEL Classification: G12, G14, G15, G18, G23, D4, D61

Suggested Citation

  • Breckenfelder, Johannes, 2019. "Competition among high-frequency traders, and market quality," Working Paper Series 2290, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20192290
    Note: 1125999
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    Cited by:

    1. Matteo Aquilina & Eric Budish & Peter O’Neill, 2022. "Quantifying the High-Frequency Trading “Arms Race”," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 137(1), pages 493-564.
    2. Foucault, Thierry & Moinas, Sophie, 2018. "Is Trading Fast Dangerous?," TSE Working Papers 18-881, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    3. Hatch, Brian C. & Johnson, Shane A. & Wang, Qin Emma & Zhang, Jun, 2021. "Algorithmic trading and firm value," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    4. Yang, Haijun & Ge, Hengshun & Luo, Ying, 2020. "The optimal bid-ask price strategies of high-frequency trading and the effect on market liquidity," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    5. Papavassiliou, Vassilios G. & Kinateder, Harald, 2021. "Information shares and market quality before and during the European sovereign debt crisis," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    6. Christophe Desagre & Floris Laly & Mikael Petitjean, 2025. "Revisiting the trading activity of high-frequency trading firms around ultra-fast flash events," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 11(1), pages 1-37, December.
    7. Johann Lussange & Boris Gutkin, 2023. "Order book regulatory impact on stock market quality: a multi-agent reinforcement learning perspective," Papers 2302.04184, arXiv.org.
    8. Ben Ammar, Imen & Hellara, Slaheddine, 2022. "High-frequency trading, stock volatility, and intraday crashes," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 337-344.
    9. Ge, Hengshun & Yang, Haijun & Doukas, John A., 2024. "The optimal strategies of competitive high-frequency traders and effects on market liquidity," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 653-679.
    10. Mark Marner-Hausen, 2022. "Developing a Framework for Real-Time Trading in a Laboratory Financial Market," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 172, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    11. Aït-Sahalia, Yacine & Brunetti, Celso, 2020. "High frequency traders and the price process," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 217(1), pages 20-45.
    12. Ekinci, Cumhur & Ersan, Oğuz, 2022. "High-frequency trading and market quality: The case of a “slightly exposed” market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Aquilina, Matteo & Budish, Eric B. & O'Neill, Peter, 2020. "Quantifying the High-Frequency Trading "Arms Race": A Simple New Methodology and Estimates," Working Papers 300, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    14. Carè, Rosella & Cumming, Douglas, 2024. "Technology and automation in financial trading: A bibliometric review," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    competition; high-frequency trading; high-frequency trading strategies; tick size reform;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design
    • D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis

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