Received: 28 July 2016 Accepted: 19 December 2017 DOI: 10.1002/ijfe.1608 RESEARCH ARTICLE Examining drivers of trading volume in European markets Bogdan Batrinca | Christian W. Hesse | Philip C. Treleaven Department of Computer Science, Abstract University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK This study presents an in‐depth exploration of market dynamics and analyses potential drivers of trading volume. The study considers established facts from Correspondence Bogdan Batrinca, Department of the literature, such as calendar anomalies, the correlation between volume and Computer Science, University College price change, and this relation's asymmetry, while proposing a variety of time London, Gower Street, London WC1E series models. The results identified some key volume predictors, such as the 6BT, UK. Email:
[email protected] lagged time series volume data and historical price indicators (e.g. intraday range, intraday return, and overnight return). Moreover, the study provides empirical evi- Funding information dence for the price–volume relation asymmetry, finding an overall price asymme- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) UK try in over 70% of the analysed stocks, which is observed in the form of a moderate overnight asymmetry and a more salient intraday asymmetry. We conclude that JEL Classification: C32; C52; C58; G12; volatility features, more recent data, and day‐of‐the‐week features, with a notable G15; G17 negative effect on Mondays and Fridays, improve the volume prediction model. KEYWORDS asymmetric models, behavioural finance, European stock market, feature selection, price volume relation, trading volume 1 | INTRODUCTION which was $63tn in 2011 (World Federation of Exchanges, 2012) and $49tn in 2012 (World Federation of Exchanges, This study investigates the drivers affecting the trading 2013).