COVID-19 Pandemic and Stock Returns in Asian Economies

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has massively affected financial markets around the globe. As the pandemic continues, it remains unclear when the financial crises would end and what would be overall impact of this outbreak. In view of this dilemma, this study examines the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on three major Asian economies (i.e. China, Malaysia and India) andChinese airline companies stocks using an event study approach.The results suggest that Chinese stock markets were more adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to Malaysian and Indian stock markets. The results imply that timely and proactive measures by government authorities of a country help reduce the negative impact of events, such as pandemics and natural disasters on the stock market. The study has implications for policymakers with regard to how they may mitigate stock market volatility through active intervention during a pandemic.