Volatility in financial markets: The impact of the global financial crisis

This dissertation focuses on volatility in financial markets, with a special concern for: (i) volatility transmission between different financial markets and asset categories and, (ii) the effect of macroeconomic announcements on the returns, volatility and correlation of stock markets. These issues are analysed taking into account the phenomenon of asymmetric volatility and incorporating the period of financial turmoil caused by the Global Financial Crisis. The study focuses the attention on the emerging markets of the region of Southeast Asia. The asymmetric behaviour of volatility refers to the empirical evidence according to which a negative return shock (unexpected drop in the value of the stock) generates an increase in volatility higher than a positive return shock (unexpected increase in the value of the stock) of the same size. In the financial literature two explanations of the asymmetric effect of news on stock return volatility have been put forward. The analysis of financial assets volatility is important to academics, policy makers, and financial market participants for several reasons. First, prediction of financial assets volatility is crucial to economic agents because it helps them make rational portfolio risk management decisions. Volatility is critically important to economic agents because it represents a measure of risk exposure in their investments. Furthermore, from a theoretical perspective, volatility occupies a central stage in pricing of derivative securities. For example, to price an option we need to know, as a risk measure, the volatility of the underlying asset from now until the option expires. Moreover, in a market risk context, it is vital to know the volatility of an asset in order to calculate the Value-at-Risk of a portfolio selection. Finally, volatility is important for the economy as a whole. Policy makers often rely on market estimates of volatility as a barometer for the vulnerability of the financial markets and the economy. Regarding the Asian markets, it is worth mentioning that in recent years, the interrelations between the US and the Asian markets have raised due to the increasing financial relations. One typical portfolio diversification strategy consists of investing in similar asset classes in multiple markets (international diversification). In order to make appropriate risk management strategies it is vital to know the characteristics of the markets of the different geographical areas and how the markets co-move. Likewise, it is very important to analyse which factors can influence the behaviour of the assets in the financial markets. Within Asian markets, this thesis distinguishes between mature and emerging countries. Japan represents the mature market and the emerging economies are divided into three groups: the Asian Tigers (tigers hereafter), the Asian Tiger Cub (cubs hereafter) economies and, finally, China. The objectives of this thesis are threefold. First, to explore volatility spillovers and the time-varying behaviour of the correlation between the US and the Asian stock markets. Second, to analyse how the macroeconomic events in the US affect the Asian stock market returns, volatility and correlation. Finally, to investigate volatility spillovers between equity and currency markets in Asia. Throughout these analyses, this dissertation aims to establish behaviour patterns depending on the level of development of the emerging country analysed. Furthermore, the sample period used in the analyses incorporates the period of the recent financial turmoil originated by the subprime mortgage market in the United States in the summer of 2007, with the aim of studying the effect of the Global Financial crisis on the patterns found. In general, the results of the three analyses of this dissertation show some interesting visions. While the volatility transmission pattern between the US and the Asian stock markets is mostly observed when the degree of development of the Asian country is higher, the effect of US macroeconomic news releases on these Asian markets is greater as the Asian market analysed is less developed. It is worth mentioning that China arises as a general exception of the three analyses, performing in an independent way with respect to the other Asian economies analysed. The reason of this behaviour can be due, on the one hand, to the fact that in the past decades China has been reaching market-based financial system and has been trying to open it up towards the international financial markets. In spite of these efforts, its financial market is still not entirely open to other countries worldwide. All in all, the results suggest that emerging Asian financial markets have thus far suffered only limited impact from the Global Financial crisis. However, heightened risk perception and declining investor confidence could trigger a sudden reversal of financial flows from these region’s capital markets, pushing down asset prices and intensifying financial market volatility. The results of this dissertation may be useful for analysts, traders and portfolio managers. In an asset allocation framework, it is crucial to diversify the assets of a portfolio to diminish its risk. Considering international diversification, before composing a portfolio, it is very useful to know volatility spillovers across countries and asset classes. In this regard, it is vital to take into account the role of the currency market, not only because of the effect of exchange rate in foreign investments, but also for the relationship between the stocks in which to invest and the exchange rate of the related country. Likewise, macroeconomic news releases play a significant role in the stocks markets, hence it is very important to know the effect of the arrival of macroeconomic announcements on the returns, volatility and correlations of the stocks markets in which we want to invest. Finally, it is remarkable that the results of this thesis suggest that exchange rate policies should not be implemented without considering the repercussions on the stock market, and vice versa.