1. Data collection: A. Stock Prices and Stock Market Index:

1. Data collection: A. Stock Prices and Stock Market Index: Use a data source of your choice to collect daily data ona chosen stock and broad market index . B. Risk-free rate: daily rates of return on the 3-month T-bill rate are from the St. Louis Fed’swebsit 2. Compute the daily (holding period) rate of return on your chosen stock in percent using theadjusted closing price for the day. Alternatively, use the formula for HPR: (closing pricet+1 + dividenddisbursements t+1 – closing pricet)/ closing pricet. 3 . Find the excess return on your stock and the excess return on the market index. 4. Was there a positive or negative earnings surprise on announcement date?For my example, Apple’s first quarter earnings announced on Jan. 23, 2013 was perceived byinvestors as a negative surprise1.