Volatility in equity markets and monetary policy rate uncertainty

Iryna Kaminska and Matt Roberts-Sklar

Journal of Empirical Finance, 2018, vol. 45, issue C, 68-83

Abstract: Asset pricing models assume the risk-free rate to be a key factor for equity prices. Hence, there should be a strong link between monetary policy rate uncertainty and equity return volatility, both in theory and data. This paper uses regression-based projections for realized variance to examine the relationship between short horizon forecasts of equity variance and proxies for monetary policy rate uncertainty. By assessing various projection models for UK, US and euro area equity indices, we show that the proxies for monetary policy rate uncertainty have a significant and positive predictive power for the equity return variance. Adding monetary policy rate uncertainty variables can significantly improve forecasting models for equity variance and volatility at weekly, monthly and even quarterly horizons. The findings imply that market views of short-term interest rate developments may indeed be embedded in equity prices and their variations.

Keywords: Equity indices; Monetary policy rate uncertainty; Option implied volatility; Realized volatility; Risk-free interest rates; Volatility forecasting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C22 C52 E52 G12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (23)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:empfin:v:45:y:2018:i:c:p:68-83

DOI: 10.1016/j.jempfin.2017.09.008

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