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Exploration of safe havens for Africa's stock markets: A test case under COVID-19 crisis

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  • Omane-Adjepong, Maurice
  • Alagidede, Imhotep Paul

Abstract

The bear markets associated with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis present a test case to examine the traditionally expounded safe haven capabilities of gold and other precious metals, as well as the growing claims that bitcoin is the new “virtual gold” of our time. New evidence from our paper fails to corroborate such claims, however, we find bitcoin as a complementary safe haven asset. Further results show that none of the traditional safe havens and bitcoin could offer refuge for Africa's emerging equity markets. Instead, gold and palladium outperform the other candidates to provide sanctuary for small-sized equity markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Omane-Adjepong, Maurice & Alagidede, Imhotep Paul, 2021. "Exploration of safe havens for Africa's stock markets: A test case under COVID-19 crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:38:y:2021:i:c:s1544612320316913
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2020.101877
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    2. Nakagawa, Kei & Sakemoto, Ryuta, 2022. "Cryptocurrency network factors and gold," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    3. Perote, Javier & Vicente-Lorente, José D. & Zuñiga-Vicente, Jose Angel, 2023. "How reactive is investment in US green bonds and ESG-eligible stocks in times of crisis? Exploring the COVID-19 crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    4. Urom, Christian & Ndubuisi, Gideon & Del Lo, Gaye & Yuni, Denis, 2023. "Global commodity and equity markets spillovers to Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    5. Azimli, Asil, 2022. "Degree and structure of return dependence among commodities, energy stocks and international equity markets during the post-COVID-19 period," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    6. Iyer, Subramanian Rama & Simkins, Betty J., 2022. "COVID-19 and the Economy: Summary of research and future directions," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    7. Mensi, Walid & Vo, Xuan Vinh & Kang, Sang Hoon, 2022. "COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on intraday volatility spillover between oil, gold, and stock markets," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 702-715.
    8. Anwer, Zaheer & Farid, Saqib & Khan, Ashraf & Benlagha, Noureddine, 2023. "Cryptocurrencies versus environmentally sustainable assets: Does a perfect hedge exist?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 418-431.
    9. Bentes, Sónia R., 2022. "On the stylized facts of precious metals’ volatility: A comparative analysis of pre- and during COVID-19 crisis," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 600(C).
    10. Hong, Yanran & Ma, Feng & Wang, Lu & Liang, Chao, 2022. "How does the COVID-19 outbreak affect the causality between gold and the stock market? New evidence from the extreme Granger causality test," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Ştefan Cristian Gherghina & Liliana Nicoleta Simionescu, 2023. "Exploring the asymmetric effect of COVID-19 pandemic news on the cryptocurrency market: evidence from nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag approach and frequency domain causality," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-58, December.
    12. Hassan, M. Kabir & Kamran, Muhammad & Djajadikerta, Hadrian Geri & Choudhury, Tonmoy, 2022. "Search for safe havens and resilience to global financial volatility: Response of GCC equity indexes to GFC and Covid-19," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Safe haven; Precious metals; Bitcoin; Africa's stocks; COVID-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C32 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes; State Space Models
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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