Assessing Rollover Criteria for EUAs and CERs
This study discusses how to roll over European Union Allowances (EUAs) and Certified Emissions Reduction (CERs) futures contracts with different maturities. The aim is to elucidate whether or not the choice of rollover date is important when constructing EUAs and CERs continuous futures time series. We have applied five different methodologies to link the series and our findings indicate that return distributions do not significantly differ for the different criteria. This result has direct practical implications in the field of applied econometrics of carbon markets given that we prove that the selection of the simple last-day rollover methodology criterion has no downside not only in term…
A Study of Seasonality on the SAFEX Wheat Market
This paper examines seasonality in returns and volatilities in the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) wheat futures contract in order to seek market inefficiencies that can be exploited for financial gain. Non-parametric and parametric-based techniques are used to study sample regimes before and after the peak in wheat prices that occurred during the global economic crisis in 2008. Findings of the study indicate that wheat returns on Mondays and Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT) holidays are significant and positive while Tuesday returns are negative and significant. These seasonal patterns occur largely in the second sample of the wheat dataset. Furthermore, it is observed that volatil…
Information Flows Among the Major Stock Market Areas
The relationship between the index returns of the major stock markets has been analysed in many papers. These studies usually examine lead–lag relationships between markets, without distinguishing the influencing ability and the sensitivity of each of the markets. Additionally, these studies use indices that are not directly comparable — either because of the way the indices are calculated or because of the number of companies and sectors used to construct them. This paper addresses both points. First, all the analyses have been made using homogeneous indices designed by Morgan Stanley Capital International. Secondly, the information flow has been studied by applying the model proposed by P…
Spanish Stock Returns: Where is the Weather Effect?
Psychological studies support the existence of an influence of weather on mood. Saunders (1993) and Hirshleifer and Shumway (2001) argue that the weather could affect the behaviour of market traders and, therefore, it should be reflected in the stock returns. This paper investigates the possible relation between weather and market index returns in the context of the Spanish market. In 1989, this market changed its open outcry trading system into a computerised and decentralised trading system. Therefore, it is possible to check the influence of weather variables (sunshine hours and humidity levels) on index returns in an open outcry trading system, and to compare it with a screen traded env…
The timeline of trading frictions in the European carbon market
We evaluate the quality of prices of EU-ETS, the most active European derivative market for greenhouse gas emissions allowances (EUAs). So far, this market has had two phases, a trial phase (from 2005 to 2007) and a commitment phase (from 2008 to 2012). The true value of a trial-phase EUA at the beginning of 2008 was inevitably zero because it could not be used in the commitment phase to cover emission targets. However, continued rumors of over-allocation of EUAs led to an early collapse of the market by May 2007. We study whether this market breakdown and the subsequent outbreak of the international financial crisis had a persistent effect on the quality of the commitment phase. We provide…
Speculative and hedging activities in the European Carbon Market
Abstract We explore the dynamics of the speculative and hedging activities in European futures carbon markets by using volume and open interest data. A comparison of the three phases in the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) reveals that (i) Phase II of the EU ETS seems to be the most speculative phase to date and (ii) the highest degree of speculative activity for every single phase occurs at the moment of listing the contracts for the first time. A seasonality analysis identifies a higher level of speculation in the first quarter of each year, related to the schedule of deadlines of the EU ETS. In addition, a time series analysis confirms that most of the speculative activity…
Integration and arbitrage in the Spanish financial markets: An empirical approach*
Several authors have introduced different ways to measure integra-tion between financial markets. Most of them are derived from thebasic assumptions about asset prices, like the Law of One Price or ...
Do Price Barriers Exist in the European Carbon Market?
ABSTRACTIt is generally thought that psychological prices in markets primarily traded by professional participants should play a limited role. The authors investigate the existence of key reference points in the European Carbon Market, which can be considered as a market with highly qualified stakeholders. They document the presence of key levels and barrier bands around European Union Allowances (EUA) prices. It appears that traders tend to consider these price levels as resistances in upward movements and as supports in downward movements. Furthermore, the authors have observed that the existence of price barriers affects both return and volume dynamics. Therefore, the results indicate th…
Partisan Politics Theory and stock market performance: Evidence for Spain
ABSTRACTThis paper examines the influence of Spanish major political events on stock market performance by testing the empirical implications of the existing theories focused on the connection between politics and stock exchanges. On the one hand, our findings give support to the partisan politics theory, since stock returns behave differently depending on the political orientation of the government, not only on the day of the national election but also during their tenure of office. On the other hand, the analytical results demonstrate that there are no abnormal positive returns during the second half of the government's term, which contradicts the opportunistic political business cycle th…
Rolling over stock index futures contracts
Derivative contracts have a finite life limited by their maturity. The construction of continuous series, however, is crucial for academic and trading purposes. In this study, we analyze the relevance of the choice of the rollover date, defined as the point in time when we switch from the front contract series to the next one. We have used five different methodologies in order to construct five different return series of stock index futures contracts. The results show that, regardless of the criterion applied, there are not significant differences between the resultant series. Therefore, the least complex method can be used in order to reach the same conclusions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, I…
Temperature and seasonality influences on Spanish electricity load
Abstract Deregulation of the Spanish electricity market in 1998 and the possible listing of electricity or weather derivative contracts have encouraged the study of the relationship between electricity demand and weather in Spain. In this paper, a transfer function intervention model is developed for forecasting daily electricity load from cooling and heating degree–days. The influence of weather and seasonality is proved, and is significant even when the autoregressive effects and the dynamic specification of the temperature are taken into account. The estimated general model shows a high predictive power. The results and information presented in this paper could be of interest for current…
The pan-European holiday effect
The construction of a single European block in the context of financial markets has caused the different national stock exchanges of the euro area to converge towards one common trading calendar that allows to study whether the holiday effect is a pan-European calendar anomaly or country-specific. By applying simulation methods, we provide evidence of the existence of statistically and economically abnormal positive pre- and post-holiday returns in the Eurozone which are not related to higher than average levels of volatility, but which can be explained by the preference of investors to avoid selling around European holidays.
Is the leadership of the Brent-WTI threatened by China's new crude oil futures market?
Abstract The recent listing of a new crude oil futures contract on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange (INE) has reopened the debate over whether crude oil produced in different countries or locations constitutes a unified world oil market. The aim of this paper is to study the information flows among Brent, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and the new Medium Sour Crude Oil (SC) futures contract listed on INE futures markets to assess whether the trading of this new futures contract has altered the dominant role of the most traded oil benchmarks in the world. A multiple regression model identifies the Brent futures market as the most influential market in the oil price discovery process…
What You Should Know About Carbon Markets
Since the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, carbon trading has been in continuous expansion. In this paper, we review the origins of carbon trading in order to understand how carbon trading works in Europe and, specifically, the functioning of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and the workings of several spot, futures and options markets where European Union Allowances are traded. As well, the linking of the EU ETS with the other United Nations carbon markets is also studied.
Decoupling factors on the energy–output linkage: The Spanish case
The recent increase of energy intensity in Spain and the ratification of the Kyoto protocol call for the implementation of energy policies in Spain. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Energy Consumption (EC) by taking into account several decoupling factors that can affect this linkage. Specifically, we have considered the temporal aggregation of data and its seasonal adjustments, the multivariate methodology, the substitution between EC and other inputs and the technological changes. Empirical tests reveal a long-run relationship between EC and GDP that can only be established in a complete way with a multivariate cointegration analysis.…
CO2 Prices, Energy and Weather
One of the main objectives of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme is the establishment of a market price level for allowances that show to European CO 2 emitting installations the environmental impact of their polluting activities. The aim of this paper is to focus on the daily price changes during 2005 in an attempt to examine the underlying rationality of pricing behaviour. Specifically, we study the effect of those weather and non-weather variables that academic and market agents consider as the major determinants of the of CO 2 price levels. The results show that the energy sources are the principal factors in the determination of CO 2 price levels, and that only extreme temperat…
CO<SUB align="right">2 prices and portfolio management
Since the launch of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the interest in the trade of EUAs is constantly increasing among academics and market participants. The objective of this paper is twofold: (a) a detailed description of this new market is provided for portfolio managers and (b) a comprehensive study of the implications of including Phase II EUAs in diversified portfolios is undertaken using as expected returns both historical and risk-adjusted returns. The results show that the opportunity set for investors increases when short positions in Phase II EUAs are taken.
Assessing price clustering in European Carbon Markets
Abstract The presence of price clustering in markets is taken as a sign of market inefficiency that can influence trading strategies. In this paper, we study the presence of a concentration in prices in carbon futures markets. Specifically, we analyze the European Carbon Futures Markets and test for evidence of preference for certain prices above others. Our results reveal the strong presence of price clustering in the carbon market at prices ending in digits 0 and 5. These findings support the attraction hypothesis, which endorses a significant clustering on gravitational prices, but also backs the negotiation hypothesis, which advocates greater clustering when trading costs are higher.
Holidays, weekends and range-based volatility
Abstract This study analyses the effect of non-trading periods on the forecasting ability of S&P500 index range-based volatility models. We find that volatility significantly diminishes on the first trading day after holidays and weekends, but not after long weekends. Our findings indicate that models that include autoregressive terms that interact with dummies that allow us to capture changes in volatility levels after interrupting periods provide greater explanatory power than simple autoregressive models. Therefore, the shorter the length of the non-trading periods between two trading days, the higher the overestimation of the volatility if this effect is not considered in volatility for…
Major International Information Flows Across the Safex Wheat Market
We study information flows across four wheat futures markets on four continents: Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE), South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX), Euronext/Liffe and Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT). Three approaches for studying information flows among non-synchronous markets are applied: cointegration techniques, vector autoregressive analysis and multiple regression proposed. Although comparable underlying assets are traded in the four markets, our results indicate that no long-run links exist among them. ZCE is by far the most endogenous market, and Euronext/Liffe is the most exogenous one. Finally, the model points to KCBT as the most influential and sensitive wheat market. …
What makes carbon traders cluster their orders?
Abstract The ability to trade large amounts of assets at low costs could be hindered when the size of the orders is concentrated at specific trade sizes. This paper documents evidence of size clustering behavior in the European Carbon Futures Market and analyzes the circumstances under which it happens. Our findings show that carbon trades are concentrated in sizes of one to five contracts and in multiples of five. We have also demonstrated that more clustered prices have more clustered sizes, suggesting that price and size resolution in the European Carbon Market are complementary and that carbon traders round both the price and the size of their orders. Finally, the analysis of the key de…
Is the EUA a new asset class?
The listing of a new asset requires knowledge of its statistical properties prior to its use for hedging, speculative or risk management purposes. In this paper, the authors study the stylised facts of European Union Allowances (EUAs) returns. The majority of the phenomena observed, such as heavy tails, volatility clustering, asymmetric volatility and the presence of a high number of outliers are similar to those observed in both commodity futures and financial assets. However, properties such as negative asymmetry, positive correlation with stocks indexes and higher volatility levels during the trading session, typical of financial assets, and the existence of inflation hedge and positive …
Open and Closed Positions and Stock Index Futures Volatility
In this paper we analyze the relationship between volatility in index futures markets and the number of open and closed positions. We observe that, although in general both positions are positively correlated with contemporaneous volatility, in the case of S&P 500, only the number of open positions has influence over the volatility. Additionally, we observe a stronger positive relationship on days characterized by extreme movements of these contracting movements dominating the market. Finally, our findings suggest that day-traders are not associated to an increment of volatility, whereas uninformed traders, both opening and closing their positions, have to do with it.
A new look at the meeting clustering effect
PurposeThe study aims to test the existence of a meeting clustering effect in the Spanish Stock Exchange (SSE).Design/methodology/approachThis paper studies the relationship between the clustering of annual general meetings and stock returns in the SSE. A multivariate analysis is carried out in order to analyse the relationship between monthly returns and the clustering of general meetings in the SSE.FindingsThe authors show that meeting clustering exists and that some months exhibit significant and positive additional returns related to the holding of ordinary or extraordinary general meetings.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors have explored some possible explanations for the mee…
On measuring speculative and hedging activities in futures markets from volume and open interest data
This paper provides a critical assessment of the line of research that measures speculative and hedging activities in futures markets from volume and open interest data. It makes several contributions. First, a detailed theoretical analysis of the measures proposed in the previous literature as proxies for speculative activity clarifies the circumstances in which they fail, as well as the assumptions that have to be made, when they are used as intended. Second, we propose a new way of combining the volume and the open interest figures, which provides additional information regarding the type of trading activity that takes place in the market on a given date. Finally, we analyse empirically …
Why Investors Should not be Cautious about the Academic Approach to Testing for Stock Market Anomalies
The ability of investors to implement seasonal strategies implied by academic papers has been widely criticized, most recently by Hudson et al. (Applied Financial Economics, 12, 681–86, 2002). This paper addresses these concerns, and provides an example of a strategy derived from academic papers that indicates how and to what profitability such a strategy can be implemented. In particular, the pre-holiday anomaly is examined, where returns tend to be higher on the day before a holiday. After checking that the pre-holiday return compensates market frictions, the existence and the changing nature of such anomaly is tested. Finally, the profitability of the pre-holiday trading strategy in an o…
Carbon and inflation
Abstract This paper investigates whether European Union Allowances (EUAs) can serve as an inflation hedge for two economic areas, four euro countries and two non-euro countries. The Extended Fisher Hypothesis is tested and the evidence shows a strong positive relationship between EUA returns and the unexpected inflation component in all the economic areas or countries analysed, except for the US. Therefore, EUAs are able to provide a hedge against unanticipated inflation rates.
Rolling Over EUAs and CERs
Whatever derivative contract has a finite life limited by their maturity. The construction of long series, however, is of interest for academic, hedging and investments purposes. In this study, we analyze the relevance of the choice of the rollover date on European Union Allowances (EUAs) and Certified Emissions Reduction (CERs) futures contracts. We have used five different methodologies to construct long series and the results show that, regardless of the criterion applied, there are not significant differences between the resultant return distribution series. Therefore, the least complex method, which is to roll on the last trading day, can be used in order to reach the same conclusions.…
Do Carbon Traders Behave as a Herd?
Abstract This paper shows the existence of herding behavior in the European Carbon Futures Market and studies its possible causes and consequences. This market is characterized by leading the carbon price discovery process and by being highly dominated by professional traders. Both features make it an appropriate environment for the existence of herding. A patterns analysis indicates that the herding level increases in speculative periods, on those days on which the price and size clustering effect is stronger, and with the arrival of carbon-related news. Regarding possible market drivers, we find that herding behavior is positively related with the number of trades, the intraday volatility…
The inconvenience yield of carbon futures
Abstract Since 2009, the European Carbon Futures Market has been in a permanent contango situation that is characterised by systematic negative convenience yields that allow investors to exploit profitable arbitrage opportunities. The objective of this paper is to analyse the possible drivers of these negative convenience yields. Our empirical results indicate that although some carbon trading variables are behind this contango situation, the carbon inconvenience yield is better explained if other financial markets and variables are considered, suggesting a financialization of the European Carbon Futures Market.
The effectiveness of several market integration measures when facing a market turmoil
Many market integration measures are operationalized to compute their numerical values during a period characterized by the lack of stability and market turmoil. The results of the tests give their degree of effectiveness, and reveal that the measures based on the principles of asset valuation, versus statistical measures, more clearly yield the level of integration of financial markets. Besides, cross market arbitrage-linked measures and equilibrium models-linked measures provide complementary information and reflect different properties, and consequently, both types of measures may be useful in practice.