Investor Behavior and Flow-through Capability in the US Stock Market

Front Psychol. 2016 May 9:7:668. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00668. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

This paper analyzes investor behavior depending on the flow-through capability (FTC) in the US stock market, because investors seek protection from inflation rate changes, and the FTC (a firm's ability to transmit inflation shocks to the prices of its products and services) is a key factor in investment decisions. Our estimates of the FTC of firms listed on the US stock exchange at the sector level are significantly different among industries, and we demonstrate a direct relationship between changes in stock prices (at the sector level) and FTC. These results would be relevant because they have important implications on investor behavior.

Keywords: flow-through capability; inflation rate; investor behavior; sectoral analysis; stock return.