The Cross-Section of Daily Variation in Liquidity

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze cross-sectional heterogeneity in the time-series variation of liquidity. Average daily changes in liquidity exhibit significant heterogeneity in the cross-section; the liquidity of small firms varies more on a daily basis than that of large firms. A steady increase in aggregate market liquidity over the past decade is more strongly manifest in large firms than in small firms. We investigate cross-sectional differences in the resilience of a firm?s liquidity to information shocks. We use the sensitivity of stock liquidity to absolute stock returns as an inverse measure of this resilience, and find that the measure exhibits considerable cross-sectional variation. Firm size, return volatility, institutional holdings, and volume are all significant cross-sectional determinants of this measure.