Three Essays on Pricing and Market Behaviour around Corporate Acts and Information Releases

Abstract

This dissertation studies pricing and market behaviour around corporate acts and information releases. The issues examined within this thesis are a fundamental part of the functioning of secondary markets and the broader integrity of the financial system. The three essays in this dissertation examine factors related to the efficiency of price adjustment on equity markets in response to new information and the influence of third party certification on initial public offering process. In particular, the speed by which the information contained in corporate earnings announcements is incorporated into equity prices; the behaviour of algorithmic traders around such announcements; and the insights that venture capitalist backing of newly listing companies has for third party investors are comprehensively examined. The outcomes of these studies provide new insights into how equity markets function and, therefore, the findings are relevant for market practitioners, policy makers and the academic community.