On the pricing of overnight market risk

This paper addresses the relation between market risk and expected market returns under periodic trading breaks. We propose a model where asset prices are driven by a diffusive process that operates during the trading day and a separate process that captures overnight price changes. Our empirical analysis shows that both components are important in explaining the equity market risk premium. Trading breaks entail a lack of market functionality and liquidity, and our results reveal that investors ask for a premium to hold the market portfolio overnight. Considering additional state variables in the model, we find that uncertainty risk and illiquidity risk are both significantly priced as well.