In this paper, we develop a Markovian model that deals with the volume offered at the best quote of an electronic order book. The volume of the first limit is a stochastic process whose paths are periodically interrupted and reset to a new value, eit
her by a new limit order submitted inside the spread or by a market order that removes the first limit. Using applied probability results on killing and resurrecting Markov processes, we derive the stationary distribution of the volume offered at the best quote. All proposed models are empirically fitted and compared, stressing the importance of the proposed mechanisms.
The call auction is a widely used trading mechanism, especially during the opening and closing periods of financial markets. In this paper, we study a standard call auction problem where orders are submitted according to Poisson processes, with rando
m prices distributed according to a general distribution, and may be cancelled at any time. We compute the analytical expressions of the distributions of the traded volume, of the lower and upper bounds of the clearing prices, and of the price range of these possible clearing prices of the call auction. Using results from the theory of order statistics and a theorem on the limit of sequences of random variables with independent random indices, we derive the weak limits of all these distributions. In this setting, traded volume and bounds of the clearing prices are found to be asymptotically normal, while the clearing price range is asymptotically exponential. All the parameters of these distributions are explicitly derived as functions of the parameters of the incoming orders flows.
We study the analytical properties of a one-side order book model in which the flows of limit and market orders are Poisson processes and the distribution of lifetimes of cancelled orders is exponential. Although simplistic, the model provides an ana
lytical tractability that should not be overlooked. Using basic results for birth-and-death processes, we build an analytical formula for the shape (depth) of a continuous order book model which is both founded by market mechanisms and very close to empirically tested formulas. We relate this shape to the probability of execution of a limit order, highlighting a law of conservation of the flows of orders in an order book. We then extend our model by allowing random sizes of limit orders, hereby allowing to study the relationship between the size of the incoming limit orders and the shape of the order book. Our theoretical model shows that, for a given total volume of incoming limit orders, the less limit orders are submitted (i.e. the larger the average size of these limit orders), the deeper is the order book around the spread. This theoretical relationship is finally empirically tested on several stocks traded on the Paris stock exchange.
It has been suggested that marked point processes might be good candidates for the modelling of financial high-frequency data. A special class of point processes, Hawkes processes, has been the subject of various investigations in the financial commu
nity. In this paper, we propose to enhance a basic zero-intelligence order book simulator with arrival times of limit and market orders following mutually (asymmetrically) exciting Hawkes processes. Modelling is based on empirical observations on time intervals between orders that we verify on several markets (equity, bond futures, index futures). We show that this simple feature enables a much more realistic treatment of the bid-ask spread of the simulated order book.
We highlight a very simple statistical tool for the analysis of financial bubbles, which has already been studied in [1]. We provide extensive empirical tests of this statistical tool and investigate analytically its link with stocks correlation structure.
This article aims at reviewing recent empirical and theoretical developments usually grouped under the term Econophysics. Since its name was coined in 1995 by merging the words Economics and Physics, this new interdisciplinary field has grown in vari
ous directions: theoretical macroeconomics (wealth distributions), microstructure of financial markets (order book modelling), econometrics of financial bubbles and crashes, etc. In the first part of the review, we discuss on the emergence of Econophysics. Then we present empirical studies revealing statistical properties of financial time series. We begin the presentation with the widely acknowledged stylized facts which describe the returns of financial assets- fat tails, volatility clustering, autocorrelation, etc.- and recall that some of these properties are directly linked to the way time is taken into account. We continue with the statistical properties observed on order books in financial markets. For the sake of illustrating this review, (nearly) all the stated facts are reproduced using our own high-frequency financial database. Finally, contributions to the study of correlations of assets such as random matrix theory and graph theory are presented. In the second part of the review, we deal with models in Econophysics through the point of view of agent-based modelling. Amongst a large number of multi-agent-based models, we have identified three representative areas. First, using previous work originally presented in the fields of behavioural finance and market microstructure theory, econophysicists have developed agent-based models of order-driven markets that are extensively presented here. Second, kinetic theory models designed to explain some empirical facts on wealth distribution are reviewed. Third, we briefly summarize game theory models by reviewing the now classic minority game and related problems.
