Heterogeneity and anchoring in financial markets

The motivation behind this article is to verify the efficient market hypothesis as found in traditional financial theories. Participants in Japanese stock markets tend to be heterogeneous; the types of firms to which survey respondents belong can affect the formation of expectations. Furthermore, the majority of market participants - even institutional investors who are financial market professionals - place significant weight on past forecast values, and the strength of the anchoring effects depends on the types of firms to which the respondents belong, as well as the stock market conditions.