Stock splits at the Lima Stock Exchange: do they affect the return and liquidity of the stocks?

In well-developed capital markets there is evidence of positive abnormal returns and increased stock liquidity around the announcement date of a stock split. The first phenomenon is due to the fact that a stock split is associated with a forthcoming dividend distribution, while the increased stock liquidity is explained by a diminution in the stock price. In this work, the event study methodology is used in order to verify both phenomenons in a 20 stock splits sample that were accomplished during 1994-2004 years at the Lima Stock Exchange. In contrast with previous studies, it is not found a positive abnormal return associated with the studied stock splits, but it is found an increase in stock liquidity in the days following the stock splits. The results indicate that stock splits do not seem to carry valuable information to the market. This is consistent with the lack of a firm dividend policy in Peru and with an overwhelming presence of institutional investors who are better interested in liquidity and the risk of their investments.