Forty Years, Thirty Currencies and 21,000 Trading Rules: A Large-Scale, Data-Snooping Robust Analysis of Technical Trading in the Foreign Exchange Market

61 Pages Posted: 31 Oct 2014

See all articles by Po-Hsuan Hsu

Po-Hsuan Hsu

National Tsing Hua University - Department of Quantitative Finance; National University of Singapore (NUS) - Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER)

Mark P. Taylor

Washington University in St. Louis - John M. Olin Business School; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Brookings Institution

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: May 5, 2013

Abstract

We carry out a large-scale investigation of technical trading rules in the foreign exchange market, using daily data over a maximum of forty years for thirty developed and emerging market currencies. Employing a stepwise test to safeguard against data-snooping bias and examining over 21,000 technical trading rules, we find evidence of substantial predictability in both developed and emerging markets, measured against a variety of returns and risk-adjusted performance metrics. We present time-series and cross-sectional variation in sub-periods and cultural and/or geographic groups, respectively, suggesting that temporarily not-fully-rational behavior and market immaturity lead to technical predictability and potential profitability.

Keywords: Data snooping, Foreign exchange, Technical analysis

JEL Classification: F31, C53, G15

Suggested Citation

Hsu, Po-Hsuan and Taylor, Mark P., Forty Years, Thirty Currencies and 21,000 Trading Rules: A Large-Scale, Data-Snooping Robust Analysis of Technical Trading in the Foreign Exchange Market (May 5, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2517125 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2517125

Po-Hsuan Hsu (Contact Author)

National Tsing Hua University - Department of Quantitative Finance ( email )

101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road
Hsinchu, Taiwan 300
China

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Asian Bureau of Finance and Economic Research (ABFER) ( email )

BIZ 2 Storey 4, 04-05
1 Business Link
Singapore, 117592
Singapore

Mark P. Taylor

Washington University in St. Louis - John M. Olin Business School ( email )

One Brookings Drive
Campus Box 1156
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Brookings Institution ( email )

1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20036
United States

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