The Flash Crash: A New Deconstruction
53 Pages Posted: 26 Jan 2016 Last revised: 10 May 2017
Date Written: March 26, 2017
Abstract
The “Flash Crash” of May 6th, 2010 comprised an unprecedented, rapid decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average that was followed by a rapid, disorderly recovery of prices. We illuminate the causes of this singular event with the first analysis of all order book activity at millisecond granularity. We document previously overlooked market data anomalies and establish that these anomalies Granger-caused liquidity withdrawal. Our results suggest that the illegal spoofing behavior of a single trader, Navinder Sarao, had little impact on market prices, but that the combined effects of large sell orders and widespread liquidity withdrawal caused prices to collapse.
Keywords: High-frequency trading, market microstructure, Flash Crash, financial market regulation.
JEL Classification: C32, C55, G14, G17, G28.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation