Does Speed Matter? The Role of High-Frequency Trading for Order Book Resiliency

What is it about?

This paper explores limit order book resiliency following liquidity shocks in the presence of high-frequency traders. Based on a unique data set that enables the identification of orders submitted by algorithms and subscribers of co-location services, we study whether high-frequency traders are involved in the replenishment of the order book. We analyze order submission and deletion activity before and after liquidity shocks initiated by large market orders. Our results show that exclusively high-frequency traders reduce the spread within the first seconds after the liquidity shock making use of their speed advantage. However, liquidity recovery in terms of order book depth takes significantly longer and is accomplished by human traders' submission activity only.

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