Two Price Regimes in Limit Order Books: Liquidity Cushion and Fragmented Distant Field

Abstract

The distribution of liquidity within the limit order book is essential for the impact of market orders on the stock price and the emergence of price shocks. Hence it is of great interest to improve the understanding of the time-dependent dynamics of the limit order book. In our analysis we find a broad distribution of limit order lifetimes. Around the quotes we find a densely filled regime with mostly short living limit orders, far away from the quotes we find a sparse filling with mostly long living limit orders. We determine the characteristics of those two regimes and point out the main differences. Based on our research we propose a model for simulating the regime around the quotes.