Using Daily Stock Returns: The Case of Event Studies

Abstract

This paper examines properties of daily stock returns and how the particular characteristics of these data affect event study methodologies. Daily data generally present few difficulties for event studies. Standard procedures are typically well-specified even when special daily data characteris-tics are ignored. However, recognition of autocorrelation in daily excess returns and changes in their variance conditional on an event can sometimes be advantageous. In addition, tests ignoring cross-sectional dependence can be well-specified and have higher power than tests which account for potential dependence. 1.