Consequences of Voluntary Stock Exchange Section Switching on Stocks Price, Liquidity and Volatility

The decision to switch stock exchange section is an important, but one of the least studied questions in the litterature. especially for voluntary transfer decisions. Managers believe that switching the trading compartment of their common stocks to a more important one creates value for their firms by improving visibility, stocks’ liquidity and raising capital at lower cost. In this article, we examine market reactions around trading compartment switchings. The results, in general, indicate a positive market reaction around the transfer announcement and an improvement of stock liquidity after that date. However, the market reaction weakens significantly after admission to the new stock exchange section. Our findings also reveal a link between stock price reaction to a compartment transfer and the pre-transfer liquidity level. Finally, we highlight that compartment transfer reduces volatility of switching stocks, owing to the decrease in the firm-specific risk rather than the systematic risk.
JEL Codes: G12; G14.
Keywords: Market Section Transfer; Price Reaction; Liquidity Effect; Information Asymmetry; Event Study.