Do Recent Changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average Support the Price-Pressure Hypothesis

Abstract

The price-pressure hypothesis (PPH) assumes that a temporary increase (decrease) in returns and volume results as firms are added to (deleted from) an index around the announcement date. This event study analyzed recent unexamined changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) since 1996. Examination of returns of firms added to and firms deleted from DJIA did not support the PPH. Only deleted stocks’ volume exhibited a slight increase following the announcement dates. Otherwise, the volume analyses for stocks either added to or deleted from the DJIA tended not to support the PPH.

Keywords: Price-pressure hypothesis, DJIA additions

JEL Classification: G11, G12