An Estimation of Options Spreads Using the Order Flow Information of the Futures Market

Abstract

This study examines the bid/ask spread and its components in the KOSPI200 options market under the framework of the cross-market model, which utilizes the order flow information of both KOSPI200 futures and options markets. We also compare the results by the single-market model (MRR model; Madhavan et al., 1997) and by the cross-market model (Ryu (2011)’s extension). This comparison suggests that the cross-market approach can mitigate the underestimation of the permanent spread component of OTM options and the overestimation of the component of ITM options, which are often detected when we directly apply the single market model into the KOSPI200 options market where the ITM options are relatively illiquid while the OTM options are extremely liquid. We also find that the effect of the order flow information of the futures market on the option spread and its permanent spread component will vary depending on the option moneyness and the intraday time period. This implies that the order flow of the futures market has more significant effects if the degree of informed trading is relatively high.