Skewness Dispersion and Stock Market Returns

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Babiak, Mykola, Barunik, Jozef, Kurka, Josef
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Babiak, Mykola
Barunik, Jozef
Kurka, Josef
author_facet Babiak, Mykola
Barunik, Jozef
Kurka, Josef
contents Cross-sectional dispersion in firm-level realized skewness is significantly and negatively related to future stock market returns. The predictive power of skewness dispersion is robust to in-sample and out-of-sample estimation and is incremental over a broad set of existing predictors, with only a few alternatives retaining independent explanatory ability. Skewness dispersion also delivers substantial economic gains in portfolio allocation. Its forecasting power is concentrated in months with monetary policy announcements, reflecting an information-based mechanism. The empirical evidence suggests that skewness dispersion captures the gradual incorporation of macro news into prices, which is driven by variation in aggregate risk and valuation adjustments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_07870
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Skewness Dispersion and Stock Market Returns
Babiak, Mykola
Barunik, Jozef
Kurka, Josef
General Finance
Cross-sectional dispersion in firm-level realized skewness is significantly and negatively related to future stock market returns. The predictive power of skewness dispersion is robust to in-sample and out-of-sample estimation and is incremental over a broad set of existing predictors, with only a few alternatives retaining independent explanatory ability. Skewness dispersion also delivers substantial economic gains in portfolio allocation. Its forecasting power is concentrated in months with monetary policy announcements, reflecting an information-based mechanism. The empirical evidence suggests that skewness dispersion captures the gradual incorporation of macro news into prices, which is driven by variation in aggregate risk and valuation adjustments.
title Skewness Dispersion and Stock Market Returns
topic General Finance
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.07870