The impact of the Russia–Ukraine crisis on oil and gas shares: an event study approach

In this study, the effect of the Russia–Ukraine crisis on the energy companies traded in the stock exhanges of European and Asian countries which import oil and natural gas from Russia as well as Russia’s strategic rival USA, is examined by event study method. The sample used in the research consists of the stock market data of 10 countries which are labeled as the “Oil and Gas Producers” via DataStream. The data in question consist of the stocks and major index values of 34 active energy companies, which are traded in the stock exchanges of the countries subject to the study and are among the top 5 companies with the largest market capitalization. As a result of the analysis made on the basis of each country, the shock of the tension between Russia and Ukraine turning into a hot conflict during the first event window period, caused an extreme reaction in the European and Asian stock markets, which was discussed in the study and positive abnormal returns emerged. However, the energy companies in the US stock market remained far from the environment of fear and anxiety and preserved their market activities. In the second event window period, because of Russia’s pre-announcement of natural gas sales in rubles, the stocks in the study quickly adapted this information, which was shared with the public. It was reflected to their prices and the efficiency of their markets was ensured.