International Listings and Stock Returns: Some Empirical Evidence

Segmentation of capital markets produces incentives for firms to adopt countermeasures, one of which is dually listing their stocks on foreign capital markets. In this paper, the behavior of stock returns surrounding such international listings is examined for a sample of firms. Assuming that the capital markets are either completely or “mildly” segmented beforehand, it is hypothesized that the international listing of a security should, in general, accompany a reduction in its expected return. The sample reveals evidence consistent with this hypothesis.