Are Mining-Exploration Stocks More Prone to Informed Trading Than Mining-Production Stocks?

Abstract

This paper examines the level of informed trading in mining-exploration and production stocks listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The probability of informed trading is higher in exploration stocks. However, this same pattern is detected in a sample of control-stocks matched by trading activity, suggesting that the difference in informed trading between production and exploration stocks reflects the impact of differences in trading activity documented in prior research. These results show that mining-exploration stocks experience the same level of informed trading as other less actively traded stocks in other industries.