Recent evidence in the U.S. and Europe indicates that stocks with high maximum daily returns in the previous month, perform poorly in the current month. We investigate the presence of a similar effect in the emerging Chinese stock markets with portfolio-level analysis and firm-level Fama-MacBeth cross-sectional regressions. We find evidence of a MAX effect similar to the U.S. and European markets though the effect appears stronger for longer holding periods. Contrary to U.S. and European evidence, the MAX effect in China does not weaken much less reverse the anomalous IV effect. Both the MAX and IV effects appear to independently coexist in the Chinese stock markets. Interpreted together with the strong evidence of risk-seeking behaviour among Chinese investors, our results are consistent with the suggestion that the negative MAX effect is driven by investor preference for stocks with lottery-like features.

The emergence of a stock market in China only occurred a decade ago and it remains something of an unknown quantity to many observers and traders outside of the country. This book provides an extensive historical and empirical analysis of the Chinese stock-market, the development of which is an integral part of the process of economic modernization that began in China in the late 1970s. The authors address a variety of critical topics to assess the efficiency, predictability and profitability of the Chinese stock-market. They carefully examine the evolution and performance of the market over the past ten years and measure its level of efficiency using an array of empirical studies. The results reveal that not only is the stock market far from efficient but that it has also failed to properly integrate with other regional markets. Thus, the authors propose further reforms which they argue are necessary for the stock market to realize its full potential contribution to the operation of China's financial markets and to its continuing economic development. The stock market in China will undoubtedly grow in importance and international influence during the next ten years. As such, this valuable new book will be required reading for economic researchers, business economists and market analysts, as well as academics with an interest in Chinese business and Asian finance.

We investigate the significance of extreme positive returns (MAX) in the cross- sectional pricing of stocks in South Korea. Our results provide important out of sample evidence of a strong negative MAX effect similar to that documented by Bali et al., (2011) in the U.S. stock market. For equal-weighted portfolios, the difference between returns on the portfolios with the highest and lowest maximum daily returns is -1.87% per month. The corresponding difference in alpha is -1.41% per month. The results are robust to controls for size, value, skewness, momentum, short-term reversal, and idiosyncratic volatility. We also sort the portfolios by the average of the five highest daily returns within the month and report return and alpha spreads of -2.21% and -2.01% per month, respectively. However, unlike in Bali et al., (2011) the MAX effect cannot reverse the idiosyncratic volatility effect in the South Korean stock market. Our results imply investor preference for high MAX stocks, consistent with cumulative prospect theory (CPT) where investors sub-optimally overweight the possibility that extreme returns will persist. The MAX effect is also consistent with the optimal expectations framework where investors derive utility from overestimating the probabilities of events in which their investments pay off well.

“Bali, Engle, and Murray have produced a highly accessible introduction to the techniques and evidence of modern empirical asset pricing. This book should be read and absorbed by every serious student of the field, academic and professional.” Eugene Fama, Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago and 2013 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences “The empirical analysis of the cross-section of stock returns is a monumental achievement of half a century of finance research. Both the established facts and the methods used to discover them have subtle complexities that can mislead casual observers and novice researchers. Bali, Engle, and Murray’s clear and careful guide to these issues provides a firm foundation for future discoveries.” John Campbell, Morton L. and Carole S. Olshan Professor of Economics, Harvard University “Bali, Engle, and Murray provide clear and accessible descriptions of many of the most important empirical techniques and results in asset pricing.” Kenneth R. French, Roth Family Distinguished Professor of Finance, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College “This exciting new book presents a thorough review of what we know about the cross-section of stock returns. Given its comprehensive nature, systematic approach, and easy-to-understand language, the book is a valuable resource for any introductory PhD class in empirical asset pricing.” Lubos Pastor, Charles P. McQuaid Professor of Finance, University of Chicago Empirical Asset Pricing: The Cross Section of Stock Returns is a comprehensive overview of the most important findings of empirical asset pricing research. The book begins with thorough expositions of the most prevalent econometric techniques with in-depth discussions of the implementation and interpretation of results illustrated through detailed examples. The second half of the book applies these techniques to demonstrate the most salient patterns observed in stock returns. The phenomena documented form the basis for a range of investment strategies as well as the foundations of contemporary empirical asset pricing research. Empirical Asset Pricing: The Cross Section of Stock Returns also includes: Discussions on the driving forces behind the patterns observed in the stock market An extensive set of results that serve as a reference for practitioners and academics alike Numerous references to both contemporary and foundational research articles Empirical Asset Pricing: The Cross Section of Stock Returns is an ideal textbook for graduate-level courses in asset pricing and portfolio management. The book is also an indispensable reference for researchers and practitioners in finance and economics. Turan G. Bali, PhD, is the Robert Parker Chair Professor of Finance in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. The recipient of the 2014 Jack Treynor prize, he is the coauthor of Mathematical Methods for Finance: Tools for Asset and Risk Management, also published by Wiley. Robert F. Engle, PhD, is the Michael Armellino Professor of Finance in the Stern School of Business at New York University. He is the 2003 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, Director of the New York University Stern Volatility Institute, and co-founding President of the Society for Financial Econometrics. Scott Murray, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Finance in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. He is the recipient of the 2014 Jack Treynor prize.

This study examines to what extent liquidity is determined by common underlying factors in an emerging market that has adopted an order-driven trading system. Using China as a case for the study, we select a broad sample of stocks from two separate Chinese stock exchanges to measure and analyse market-wide movements in liquidity. Evidence found in this study confirms that commonality is present in emerging markets, and seems significant and pervasive. Its existence is robust to the influences of size, industry, and up and down markets effects. In parallel to a market-wide component, we find in the commonality construct an industrial component. Liquidity of large firms' stocks is found to be more likely to move with market liquidity. We also find that fund managers exhibit herding behaviour in their liquidity management. In the face of shocks to market liquidity, Chinese market participants tend to adjust both the spread and the depth. In a down market, market liquidity moves more widely and commonality in liquidity becomes more significant. These findings about the Chinese stock market provide useful pointers for understanding commonality in emerging economies and shed critical light on a new dimension of the working of emerging markets.

The Efficient Market Hypothesis believes that it is impossible for an investor to outperform the market because all available information is already built into stock prices. However, some anomalies could persist in stock markets while some other anomalies could appear, disappear and re-appear again without any warning. A Special Issue on "Efficiency and Anomalies in Stock Markets" will be devoted to advancements in the theoretical development of market efficiency and anomaly in the Stock Market, as well as applications in Stock Market efficiency and anomalies.