An Empirical Investigation of the Random Walk Hypothesis in the Nigerian Stock Market

The Random Walk Hypothesis (RWH) states that stock prices move randomly in the stock market without following any regular or particular pattern and as such historical information contained in the past prices of stocks cannot be used to predict current or future stock prices. Hence, stock prices are unpredictable and that investors cannot usurp any available information in the market to manipulate the market and make abnormal profits. This study empirically examines the random walk hypothesis in the Nigerian stock market using the daily quotations of the Nigerian stock exchange from 2nd January, 1998 to 31st December, 2019. The study employs Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root test, the random walk model, Ljung-Box Q-statistic test for serial dependence, runs test of randomness, and the robust variance ratio test as methods of analyses. The result of the study rejected the null hypotheses of a unit root and random walk in the stock returns. The null hypothesis of no serial correlation in the residuals of stock returns was also rejected indicating the presence of serial correlation/autocorrelation in the residual series. The result of the runs test rejected the null hypothesis of randomness in the Nigerian stock returns. The results of the variance ratio test under homoskedasticity and heteroskedasticity assumptions both strongly rejected the null hypothesis of a random walk for both joint tests and test of individual periods. Based on the results of the four tests applied in this study, it is concluded that the Nigerian daily stock returns under the period of investigation do not follow a random walk and hence the null hypothesis of a random walk is rejected. The results of the study further revealed that the Nigerian stock market is weak-form inefficient indicating that prices in the Nigerian stock market are predictable, dependable, consistently mispriced, inflated, liable to arbitraging and left unprotected to speculations and market manipulations. The study provided some policy recommendations