Does program trading cause stock prices to overreact?
This article examines whether program
trading should be classified as a type of noise
trading or as a type of information trading. If
levels of program trading increase the likelihood
that a price reversal will occur, we can
conclude that program trading is a type of
noise trading. On the other hand, if program
trading is unrelated to the likelihood of encountering
a price reversal, then program trading
should be categorized as information trading.
I examine a 34-month period of daily
program trading activity and stock prices and
use a logit specification to consider the proposition
that trading activity changes the probability
of stock price reversals. The results do
not support the claim that program trading
causes stock price overreactions.