Covid-19 and its impact on the stock market in GCC

ABSTRACT

Although there is a common view that the impact of Covid-19 should be similar among stock markets globally, empirical examinations of this issue are lacking. This study investigates the impacts of Covid-19 on the stock markets of countries in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) between September 2019 to July 2020. The findings of conventional t-test and non-parametric Mann-Whitney tests suggest that Covid-19 had a negative short-term impact on stock markets in GCC. This study also found that the stock markets of GCC countries are comparatively less impacted as compared to the effects suffered by the global stock markets. Lastly, the findings have confirmed the bidirectional spill over effect on GCC stock markets due to movements in Chinese stock market. The findings have potentially contributed to the ongoing research on Covid-19 impacts on global stock markets and provides a reference to assess the future trends in global stock market once pandemic subsides.

KEYWORDS:

• Covid-19
• GCC
• stock market
• spill-over effect

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).