Efficiency of Price Discovery in Thinly Traded Stocks: Evidence from Dual Listings in Tel Aviv and the OTC

The increasing popularity of non-dealer security markets that offer automated, computer-based, continuous trading reflects the conventional wisdom that such markets are more efficient for all issues, large and small. This article uses a recent testing methodology to estimate the relative efficiency of discrete versus continuous trading regimes in the price discovery of thinly traded stocks. The empirical tests use over 9,000 transactions of dually listed stocks traded discretely on the Tel Aviv Stock Stock Exchange and continuously in the Over-The-Counter market in the U.S. It is shown that stock prices over-react to the arrival of new information and noise trading in both markets, but more so under continuous trading in the OTC market. It is also shown that continuous trading generates larger pricing errors and related return volatility.