Market Shocks and Stock Volatility: Evidence from Emerging and Developed Markets

Market turbulences and their impact on the financial market, particularly on the stock market, is a financial topic that has received significant research attention recently. This study compared the characteristics of stock return and volatility in selected developed and emerging markets between the 2008 financial crisis and the 2019 worldwide pandemic. In this sense, we seek to answer two concerns. First, do the developed and emerging markets behave similarly during crisis periods? Second, does economic strength always shield markets from poor economic circumstances? For this purpose, the daily return data of E7 (Emerging 7) and G7 (Developed 7) countries for two sample periods—namely, the financial crisis period of 2007–2009 and the global pandemic period of 2019–2021—were chosen. By using univariate GARCH models, namely GARCH, EGARCH, and TGARCH, the study discovered that developing and developed markets reacted differently to these two financial crises. While emerging markets responded similarly to these two crises, developed economies acted differently, being more volatile and sensitive to the worldwide pandemic of 2019 than the financial crisis of 2008. Moreover, a country’s economic prowess does not always shield it from economic turmoil. This study will help investors identify diversification opportunities among the developed and emerging markets during a crisis period. Additionally, this will help portfolio and fund managers understand the behaviour of stock markets during times of market crisis and thus give advice to investors.