In this study, we examine the effect of pre-trade transparency on market quality using data before and after the introduction of SuperMontage. Our results show that both bid-ask spreads and return volatility declined significantly after the implementation of SuperMontage. In addition,...

We show that the effect of the tick-size change on NASDAQ spreads depends critically on the Order Handling Rules (OHR). Our empirical results show that the tick-size reduction has no impact on the spread of NASDAQ issues that were not subject to the new OHR, but has a significant effect on the...

In this paper, we analyze how tick size affects quote revisions on the NYSE and whether pre-decimalization tick sizes ($1/8 and $1/16) were binding constraints on specialists' spread- and price-quote decisions. We find that the number of quote revisions that involve changes in the spread...

Theory suggests that a reduction in tick size will cause spreads to narrow on the NYSE due to the time priority rule which encourages specialists and traders to improve price. The effect of tick size on spreads is likely to be small in dealer markets (such as Nasdaq) because dealers have little...

Liquidity providers on the NYSE make faster quote adjustments towards equilibrium spreads and depths than they do on NASDAQ. Liquidity providers in both markets make faster spread and depth adjustments for stocks with more frequent trading, greater return volatility, higher prices, smaller...

Despite the widely held belief that order preferencing affects market quality, no hard evidence exists on the extent and determinants of order preferencing and its impact on dealer competition and execution quality. This study shows that the bid-ask spread (dealer quote aggressiveness) is...