Trading Halts and Intraday Stock Return Volatility on the Indonesia Stock Exchange

The main rationale of trading halts is to allow investors enough time to digest pertinent information dispersed by publicly listed corporations. If the suspensions are properly executed, they should reduce information asymmetry, and thus should also trim down stock return volatility. The primary objective of this study is to examine the effectiveness of trading halts in reducing intraday stock return volatility on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).The sample of this study comprises of 28 trading halts (events) triggered by significant price movements during 2004. Using intraday data, we construct a thirty minute observation interval, and a window of one day before and one day after the event. Statistical tests of mean difference and cross-sectional multiple regression show that trading halts do not significantly reduce intraday stock return volatility.