Markov Models for Stock Prices: A Trade-Off Between Simplicity and Accuracy
Informally, think of a Process as producing a sequence of random outcomes at discrete time steps that we’ll index by a time variable t = 0, 1, 2, . . ..
The authors introduce the Markov property through three models of market prices. The three processes described are different ways of modeling the evolution of stock prices over time, each with its own unique characteristics:
Process 1: This process models the probability of an increase in stock price as a logistic function of the difference between the current price and a reference level. The steepness of the logistic function is controlled by a parameter α1. This process exhibits mean-reverting behavior, meaning the stock price tends to revert to the reference level over time. The state of this process at any time t is simply the current stock price.
Process 2: This process models the probability of an increase in stock price as a function of the previous price movement. The direction of the next move is biased in the reverse direction of the previous move, and the extent of the bias is controlled by a parameter α2. The state of this process at any time t is a pair consisting of the current stock price and the previous price movement.
Process 3: This process extends Process 2 by making the probability of the next movement dependent on all past movements. Specifically, it depends on the number of past up-moves relative to the number of past down-moves. The extent of the "reverse pull" is controlled by a parameter α3. The state of this process at any time t is a pair consisting of the total number of up-moves and down-moves up to time t.
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