Spillover effects of multidimensional information in Fed statements on China's bond market

Abstract

This paper shows significant information spillover effects of Fed statements on China's bond market. Regarding Fed monetary policy statements as external shocks, we extract both monetary policy information and narrative sentiment information from the statements, with the sentiment data measured using the text analysis method. Furthermore, it investigates spillover effects of the multidimensional Fed information on investors' trading behaviors in China's bond market, using the event study method. Our study emphasizes three key findings. First, both monetary policy and textual sentiment within Fed statements influence trading decisions of China's bond investors, generating international spillover effects. Importantly, the role of textual sentiments as an additional spillover channel of Fed statements has been overlooked in existing literature. Second, the US monetary policy information influences investors' expectations of China's short-term interest rates and their perceptions of risks associated with holding China's long-term bonds, while the Fed's negative and uncertain sentiments primarily impact investors' short-term rate expectations. Moreover, the spillover effects of Fed sentiments on China's yield curve cannot be blocked by China's managed floating exchange rate regime. Third, the heterogeneity test reveals that spillover effects of multidimensional information in Fed conventional monetary policy statements on China's bond market are stronger than those of Fed unconventional monetary policy statements. These findings suggest that Fed narrative sentiments should be incorporated into the research framework of international spillover effect of monetary policy, especially amidst the current period characterized by growing anticipation of federal funds rate cuts and enduring monetary policy uncertainty, providing valuable insights for trading decisions of China's bond market investors.