An Application of Threshold Cointegration to Taiwan Stock Index Futures and Spot Markets

Abstract

This paper examines the arbitrage opportunity existing between Taiwan stock index futures and spot markets with the consideration of transaction costs. Index-futures arbitrageurs only enter into the market if the deviation from the equilibrium relationship is sufficiently large to compensate for transaction costs, as well as risk and price premiums. Employing the 5-minute intraday data of Taiwan index futures contracts, this paper uses the threshold cointegration model to estimate the upper and lower thresholds within which arbitrage is not profitable and, hence, the mispricing errors do not adjust back to equilibrium in the central regime. Combining these thresholds with an error correction model (ECM), empirical results show that there exists bi-directional Granger–causality relationship between index futures and spot markets. However, once the long-run cointegrated equilibrium does not hold, re-establishment of the equilibrium situation mostly depends on price adjustment in the futures market.