The association of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and fatalities with stock market returns: A case of the USA and China

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Abstract

The daily stock indices/returns of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) were examined from January 2, 2020, to April 2, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The sample was then split into three event windows. The returns were negative during the post-COVID-19 window for both markets. Interestingly, a positive link was found between NYSE returns and COVID-19 cases and deaths during the peak COVID-19 death window. These findings indicate the buying frenzy of investors in the NYSE in the wake of the increased pandemic level as compared to the SSE.

Keywords: COVID-19, Stock Returns, Post-COVID-19, Peak COVID-19

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — R.U.R.; Methodology — M.I.A.; Software — M.A.N.; Validation — R.U.R.; Formal Analysis — M.A.N.; Resources — J.U.; Data Curation — M.I.A.; Writing — Original Draft — M.I.A. and M.A.N.; Writing — Review & Editing — J.U.; Supervision — R.U.R. and J.U.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: G31, G32, C32

Received: 15.02.2022
Accepted: 17.06.2022
Published online: 21.06.2022

How to cite this paper: Rehman, R. U., Ahmad, M. I., Naseem, M. A., & Ueng, J. (2022). The association of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and fatalities with stock market returns: A case of the USA and China. Corporate Ownership & Control, 19(3), 195–200. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv19i3art15