Market Inefficiencies Associated with Pricing Oil Stocks During Shocks

Abstract

Abstract The assumption that market efficiency informs the pricing of oil stocks is critical to understanding the co-movement between stock markets and oil markets. To test this assumption in relation to various types of real oil price changes, this article proposes a two-stage analysis method that starts with a quantile regression to identify oil shocks and develop interval-valued factor pricing models. These interval-based methods, relative to traditional point-based methods, can produce more efficient parameter estimations by providing more information. The results show that oil stocks tend to be overpriced following negative oil price shocks, which partially violates the efficient market hypothesis. Yet oil stocks are efficiently priced in response to moderate changes or positive oil price shocks, such that in most cases, the market remains efficient in pricing oil stocks.