Out of the limelight but in play: Trading and liquidity of media and off-media stocks

Using hand-collected TV programming data and intra-day trading from China, we compare the trading, liquidity, and returns of on-show and off-show stocks in the same sector. Our difference-in-difference analysis reveals that post-show, off-show stocks experience significant improvements in liquidity...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fang, H., Zhang, Huiping, Qian, J.
Format: Working Paper
Published: 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/33762
Description
Summary:Using hand-collected TV programming data and intra-day trading from China, we compare the trading, liquidity, and returns of on-show and off-show stocks in the same sector. Our difference-in-difference analysis reveals that post-show, off-show stocks experience significant improvements in liquidity that is attributable to small trades. The pre-show return gap between the on-show and off-show stocks closes post-show, and there is no return reversal. We show that retail investors’ focus on off-show stocks could reflect a lack of media trust. Overall, our evidence suggests that media coverage facilitate price discovery and retail investors appear to respond rationally to media coverage.