In this study we investigate various well-known time-independent models of
asset returns being simple normal distribution, Student t-distribution, Lev
y, truncated Levy, general stable distribution. mixed diffusion jump, and c
ompound normal distribution. For this we use Standard and Poor's 500 index
data of the New York Stock Exchange, Helsinki Stock Exchange index data des
cribing a small volatile market, and artificial data. The results indicate
that all models, excluding the simple normal distribution, are, at least. q
uite reasonable descriptions of the data. Furthermore. the use of differenc
es instead of logarithmic returns tends to make the data looking visually m
ore Levy-type distributed than it is. This phenomenon is especially evident
in the artificial data that has been generated by an inflated random walk
process. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.