In contrast, some studies have reported an adverse effect of share
repurchases on liquidity. Examining a sample of 244 open market
repurchase programmes made by 198 listed firms on the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE) between 1970 and 1978, Barclay and Smith
(1988) find that bid-ask spreads widen around share repurchase
announcements. They argue that the open market repurchases increase
the adverse selection cost component of bid-ask spreads because the
market makers are more likely to incur losses as they trade with the
better-informed managers. Employing a sample of 1,526 actual share
repurchases made by 103 listed companies in Hong Kong over the
period of 1996-1999, Brockman and Chung (2001) investigated the
liquidity impact of open market share repurchases. They find that
bid-ask spreads are wider and depths are lower as a result of actual
share repurchases. Investigating 36,848 share repurchases made by
352 French firms for the period between 2000 and 2002, Ginglinger and
Hamon (2007) find that bid-ask spreads widen and depths narrow on
repurchasing days. They explain that open market share repurchases
decrease liquidity primarily because market participants can detect the
presence of better-informed managers. These findings, which indicate
that stock repurchases have negative impacts on liquidity, are therefore
consistent with the information asymmetry hypothesis.