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Investor's herding behavior in Asian equity markets during COVID-19 period

Author

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  • Jiang, Rui
  • Wen, Conghua
  • Zhang, Ruonan
  • Cui, Yu

Abstract

In this paper we investigate herding behavior triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 by considering six typical Asian stock markets. Cross-sectional Standard Deviation (CSSD) and Cross-sectional Absolute Deviation (CSAD) have been employed as the key indicators, which are aligned with the Markov-switching regression and HS model to identify the presence and magnitude of herding. We then elaborate our study by examining herding in specific time slots and markets with different idiosyncratic volatility. Our empirical results show a clear presence of herding in the “Feb 2020-Jan 2021” time window and we have captured a sharp rise of the magnitude of herding during the market crash in March 2020, and found herding emerged in these markets with shocks and fierce fluctuations.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiang, Rui & Wen, Conghua & Zhang, Ruonan & Cui, Yu, 2022. "Investor's herding behavior in Asian equity markets during COVID-19 period," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:73:y:2022:i:c:s0927538x2200066x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2022.101771
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    3. Nguyen, Huu Manh & Bakry, Walid & Vuong, Thi Huong Giang, 2023. "COVID-19 pandemic and herd behavior: Evidence from a frontier market," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    4. Alexakis, Christos & Chantziaras, Antonios & Economou, Fotini & Eleftheriou, Konstantinos & Grose, Christos, 2023. "Animal Behavior in Capital markets: Herding formation dynamics, trading volume, and the role of COVID-19 pandemic," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    5. Wang, Mei-Chih & Chang, Hao-Wen & Chang, Tsangyao, 2025. "Impact of COVID-19 on Taiwanese stock market," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(PA).
    6. Bharti & Nupur Soti & Ashish Kumar, 2025. "Thematic Review and Discussion of Research on Herd Behavior in Capital Markets: Highlighting the Gaps and Proposing Future Research Avenues," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(1), pages 21582440251, February.
    7. Bedford, Anna & Bugeja, Martin & Ghannam, Samir & Jeganathan, Davina & Ma, Nelson, 2023. "Were CEO pay cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic merely symbolic? Shareholders' reaction and outrage," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Assoe, Kodjovi & Mbengue, Mohamed Lamine & Sène, Babacar & Sy, Oumar, 2025. "Herding behavior in African stock markets: A state-space assessment during times of crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Wasim ul Rehman & Omur Saltik & Faryal Jalil & Suleyman Degirmen, 2024. "Viral decisions: unmasking the impact of COVID-19 info and behavioral quirks on investment choices," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    10. Krishnamoorthy Charith & A. A. Azeez, 2025. "Exploring Herding Instincts Through the Lens of Adaptive Market Hypothesis: Insights from a Frontier Market," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 32(4), pages 1211-1241, December.
    11. Cui, Jinxin & Maghyereh, Aktham & Liao, Dijia, 2024. "Risk connectedness between international oil and stock markets during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict: Fresh evidence from the higher-order moments," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    12. Renata Legenzova & Gintarė Leck&# & Justė Juknevičiūtė, 2025. "Do Global Disruptive Events Induce Herding Behaviour during Upward and Downward Market Movements? The Evidence from Nordic and Baltic Stock Markets," Central European Business Review, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2025(1), pages 57-73.
    13. Yao, Haixiang & Wan, Chunzhuo, 2025. "Multi-factor portfolio optimization: A combined random Forest–AdaBoost model with cost-sensitive learning11This paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 71,871,071, 72071051); the Natural Science Foundation of Gua," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    14. Tatomir, Marija & Hibiki, Norio, 2025. "Herding effect of both global and local crises in BRICS countries," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    15. Samiha Tariq, 2025. "Cognitive Biases at Play? Insights from a Bayesian Game Framework," Papers 2505.18835, arXiv.org.

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