• Management & Information Systems Review
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.147-173
• /
• 2011

It is generally accepted that there are momentum effects in the short term and reversal effects in the long term, which makes abnormal excess returns in the major stock markets in the world. In Korea stock market, however, the previous studies demonstrate that contrarian strategies based on reversal effects are more effective than momentum strategies following momentum effects in the short term as well as in the long term. This paper examines wether contrarian strategies are still effective In Korea stock market from 1980 to 2009, and the short term reversals may be changed after the foreign exchange crisis in 1997-1998. Moreover, this paper investigates how contrarian profits are shown considering the state of market. In my research, unlike previous studies, I find that both of contrarian strategies using price change and price level cannot gain excess risk adjusted returns in Korea stock market from 1980 to 2009, but this result is due to the fact that reversal effects existed before the foreign exchange crisis but momentum effects does after the foreign exchange crisis in 1997-1998. Specially, after the foreign exchange crisis, it is confirmed momentum strategies using 52 week high price, that is, price level are more effective than momentum strategies using price change. And following the strategies using 52 week high price after the foreign exchange crisis, the momentum is not only observed in the up market but also in the down market, which is different with the results of the studies regarding to American market, where the momentum is just found in the up market.