The impact of closing mechanism changes: evidence from the Shanghai stock market

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of closing mechanism changes on market quality, investor trading behavior and market manipulation in the Shanghai stock market. Design/methodology/approach A dummy variable is constructed indicating whether the closing mechanism is call auction or continuous auction. Market quality is measured from aspects of liquidity, volatility and price continuity; investor trading behavior is scaled by order timing and order aggressiveness, and a price deviation indicator is the proxy of manipulation. Using panel regression, this study examines the impact of closing mechanism changes based on intraday transaction data from the Shanghai stock market. Findings The conclusions are as follows: First, market quality improves after the closing mechanism is reformed in terms of liquidity, volatility and price continuity. Second, order strategy changes significantly in the closing call market, and investors trade more aggressively in the continuous trading period before closing. Third, the closing call mechanism restrains the closing price manipulation and thus prompts an efficient closing price. Originality/value This paper examines the policy effects of closing mechanism changes from aspects of market quality, trading behavior and price manipulation, providing pieces of evidence for trading mechanism design and market supervision in emerging markets.