Research Article
The Effect of Disclosure Frequency and Quality on Stock Price Synchronicity
Published: January 2006 · Vol. 35 No. 6 · pp. 1681-1705
Full Text
Abstract
This study examined whether the extent to which firm-specific information is reflected in stock prices increases as a result of corporate disclosure activities. Using the stock price synchronicity variable—which represents the degree to which macroeconomic information, relative to individual firm-specific information, is reflected in stock prices—the study tested the effect of the volume of disclosed information provided by firms on stock price synchronicity. The results revealed that, after controlling for the quality of disclosure, higher disclosure frequency was associated with lower stock price synchronicity. This implies that as the volume of firm-specific information provided by firms increases, investors rely more on individual firm data rather than macroeconomic data such as market indices or industry indices. Considering prior research claims (Wurgler 2000; Durnev et al. 2003; Durnev et al. 2004) that the more firm-specific information is reflected in stock prices, the closer stock prices approach intrinsic value and the more efficient the capital market's resource allocation function becomes, the results of this study suggest that the various reform-oriented disclosure systems recently and actively introduced in Korea are having a positive impact on the capital market.
