IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pre/wpaper/202089.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

COVID-19 Pandemic and Investor Herding in International Stock Markets

Author

Listed:
  • Elie Bouri

    (Adnan Kassar School of Business, Lebanese American University, Lebanon)

  • Riza Demirer

    (Department of Economics and Finance, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL 62026-1102, USA)

  • Rangan Gupta

    (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa)

  • Jacobus Nel

    (Department of Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa)

Abstract

This study examines the effect of the recent novel coronavirus pandemic on investor herding behavior in global stock markets. Utilizing a daily newspaper based index of uncertainty associated with infectious diseases, we show a strong association between herd formation in stock markets and COVID-19 induced market uncertainty. The herding effect of COVID-19 induced market uncertainty is particularly strong for emerging stock markets as well as European PIIGS stock markets that include some of the hardest hit economies in Europe by the pandemic. The findings establish a direct link between the recent pandemic and investor behavior in financial markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Elie Bouri & Riza Demirer & Rangan Gupta & Jacobus Nel, 2020. "COVID-19 Pandemic and Investor Herding in International Stock Markets," Working Papers 202089, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:pre:wpaper:202089
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chang, Eric C. & Cheng, Joseph W. & Khorana, Ajay, 2000. "An examination of herd behavior in equity markets: An international perspective," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(10), pages 1651-1679, October.
    2. Shleifer, Andrei & Summers, Lawrence H, 1990. "The Noise Trader Approach to Finance," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 4(2), pages 19-33, Spring.
    3. Sushil Bikhchandani & Sunil Sharma, 2001. "Herd Behavior in Financial Markets," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 47(3), pages 1-1.
    4. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Stephen J. Terry, 2020. "COVID-Induced Economic Uncertainty," NBER Working Papers 26983, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Ozkan, Oktay, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on stock market efficiency: Evidence from developed countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    6. John D. Hey & Andrea Morone, 2018. "Do Markets Drive Out Lemmings—or Vice Versa?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Experiments in Economics Decision Making and Markets, chapter 21, pages 467-489, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. Devenow, Andrea & Welch, Ivo, 1996. "Rational herding in financial economics," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(3-5), pages 603-615, April.
    8. Akhtaruzzaman, Md & Boubaker, Sabri & Sensoy, Ahmet, 2021. "Financial contagion during COVID–19 crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    9. Afees A. Salisu & Ahamuefula E. Ogbonna & Tirimisiyu F. Oloko & Idris A. Adediran, 2021. "A New Index for Measuring Uncertainty Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, March.
    10. Demirer, RIza & Kutan, Ali M., 2006. "Does herding behavior exist in Chinese stock markets?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 123-142, April.
    11. Francois Gourio, 2012. "Disaster Risk and Business Cycles," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(6), pages 2734-2766, October.
    12. Froot, Kenneth A & Scharftstein, David S & Stein, Jeremy C, 1992. "Herd on the Street: Informational Inefficiencies in a Market with Short-Term Speculation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1461-1484, September.
    13. Xolani Sibande & Rangan Gupta & Riza Demirer & Elie Bouri, 2023. "Investor Sentiment and (Anti) Herding in the Currency Market: Evidence from Twitter Feed Data," Journal of Behavioral Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 56-72, January.
    14. Teraji, Shinji, 2003. "Herd behavior and the quality of opinions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 661-673, December.
    15. Gleason, Kimberly C. & Mathur, Ike & Peterson, Mark A., 2004. "Analysis of intraday herding behavior among the sector ETFs," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 681-694, December.
    16. Alexakis, Christos & Eleftheriou, Konstantinos & Patsoulis, Patroklos, 2021. "COVID-19 containment measures and stock market returns: An international spatial econometrics investigation," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    17. Jessica A. Wachter, 2013. "Can Time-Varying Risk of Rare Disasters Explain Aggregate Stock Market Volatility?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(3), pages 987-1035, June.
    18. Stavros Stavroyiannis & Vassilios Babalos, 2017. "Herding, Faith-Based Investments and the Global Financial Crisis: Empirical Evidence From Static and Dynamic Models," Journal of Behavioral Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(4), pages 478-489, October.
    19. Robert J. Barro & José F. Ursúa, 2012. "Rare Macroeconomic Disasters," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 83-109, July.
    20. Vassilios Babalos & Stavros Stavroyiannis, 2015. "Herding, anti-herding behaviour in metal commodities futures: a novel portfolio-based approach," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(46), pages 4952-4966, October.
    21. Balcilar, Mehmet & Demirer, Rıza & Hammoudeh, Shawkat, 2013. "Investor herds and regime-switching: Evidence from Gulf Arab stock markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 295-321.
    22. Goodell, John W., 2020. "COVID-19 and finance: Agendas for future research," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    23. Conlon, Thomas & Corbet, Shaen & McGee, Richard J., 2020. "Are cryptocurrencies a safe haven for equity markets? An international perspective from the COVID-19 pandemic," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    24. John R. Nofsinger & Richard W. Sias, 1999. "Herding and Feedback Trading by Institutional and Individual Investors," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(6), pages 2263-2295, December.
    25. Demirer, Rıza & Leggio, Karyl B. & Lien, Donald, 2019. "Herding and flash events: Evidence from the 2010 Flash Crash," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    26. Alhaj-Yaseen, Yaseen S. & Yau, Siu-Kong, 2018. "Herding tendency among investors with heterogeneous information: Evidence from China’s equity markets," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 47, pages 60-75.
    27. Sharif, Arshian & Aloui, Chaker & Yarovaya, Larisa, 2020. "COVID-19 pandemic, oil prices, stock market, geopolitical risk and policy uncertainty nexus in the US economy: Fresh evidence from the wavelet-based approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    28. Josine Uwilingiye & Esin Cakan & Riza Demirer & Rangan Gupta, 2019. "A note on the technology herd: evidence from large institutional investors," Review of Behavioral Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(3), pages 294-308, June.
    29. Demirer, Riza & Kutan, Ali M. & Chen, Chun-Da, 2010. "Do investors herd in emerging stock markets?: Evidence from the Taiwanese market," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 283-295, November.
    30. Mehmet Balcilar & Riza Demirer, 2015. "Effect of Global Shocks and Volatility on Herd Behavior in an Emerging Market: Evidence from Borsa Istanbul," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(1), pages 140-159, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Júlio Lobão, 2022. "Herding Behavior in the Market for Green Cryptocurrencies: Evidence from CSSD and CSAD Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Nikolai I. Berzon & Maksim M. Novikov & Elena L. Pozharskaya & Yulia I. Bakhturina, 2022. "Monitoring the Modern Experience of Financial Risk Management in Russia Based on Corporate Social Responsibility for Sustainable Development," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-16, April.
    3. Mohamed Albaity & Ray Saadaoui Mallek & Hasan Mustafa, 2022. "Bank Stock Return Reactions to the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Investor Sentiment in MENA Countries," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Yi-Chang Chen & Hung-Che Wu & Yuanyuan Zhang & Shih-Ming Kuo, 2021. "A Transmission of Beta Herding during Subprime Crisis in Taiwan’s Market: DCC-MIDAS Approach," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Yener, Coskun & Akinsomi, Omokolade & Gil-Alana, Luis A. & Yaya, OlaOluwa S, 2023. "Stock Market Responses to COVID-19: The Behaviors of Mean Reversion, Dependence and Persistence," MPRA Paper 117002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Md Qamar Azam & Nazia Iqbal Hashmi & Iqbal Thonse Hawaldar & Md Shabbir Alam & Mirza Allim Baig, 2022. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and Overconfidence Bias: The Case of Cyclical and Defensive Sectors," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-15, March.
    7. Pedro Antonio González & José Luis Gallizo, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on the Stock Market by Industrial Sector in Chile: An Adverse Overreaction," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-24, November.
    8. Alexey S. Kharlanov & Yuliya V. Bazhdanova & Teimuraz A. Kemkhashvili & Natalia G. Sapozhnikova, 2022. "The Case Experience of Integrating the SDGs into Corporate Strategies for Financial Risk Management Based on Social Responsibility (with the Example of Russian TNCs)," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, January.
    9. Salisu, Afees A. & Demirer, Riza & Gupta, Rangan, 2022. "Financial turbulence, systemic risk and the predictability of stock market volatility," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    10. Claudiu Tiberiu Albulescu & Eugenia Grecu, 2023. "Government Interventions and Sovereign Bond Market Volatility during COVID-19: A Quantile Analysis," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-14, February.
    11. Siniša Bogdan & Natali Brmalj & Elvis Mujačević, 2023. "Impact of Liquidity and Investors Sentiment on Herd Behavior in Cryptocurrency Market," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, July.
    12. Olga Em & Georgi Georgiev & Sergey Radukanov & Mariana Petrova, 2022. "Assessing the Market Risk on the Government Debt of Kazakhstan and Bulgaria in Conditions of Turbulence," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, April.
    13. Karmakar, Sayar & Demirer, Riza & Gupta, Rangan, 2021. "Bitcoin mining activity and volatility dynamics in the power market," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    14. Rubesam, Alexandre & Raimundo, Gerson de Souza, 2022. "Covid-19 and herding in global equity markets," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    15. Richard T. Ampofo & Eric N. Aidoo & Bernard O. Ntiamoah & Ophelia Frimpong & Daniel Sasu, 2023. "An empirical investigation of COVID-19 effects on herding behaviour in USA and UK stock markets using a quantile regression approach," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 47(2), pages 517-540, June.
    16. Josua Sinaga & Ting Wu & Yu-wang Chen, 2022. "Impact of government interventions on the stock market during COVID-19: a case study in Indonesia," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(9), pages 1-35, September.
    17. Faisal Alnori & Moid U. Ahmad, 2022. "Herd Mentality Amongst Equity Investors During COVID-19: Evidences from Saudi Arabia," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 12(4), pages 40-46, July.
    18. Ali, Sara & Badshah, Ihsan & Demirer, Riza, 2023. "Anti-herding by hedge funds and its implications for expected returns," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 31-48.
    19. Samuel Tabot Enow, 2023. "Detecting the Herding Behaviour in the South African Stock Market and its Implications," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 13(2), pages 88-92, March.
    20. Elena G. Popkova & Bruno S. Sergi, 2021. "Dataset Modelling of the Financial Risk Management of Social Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies," Risks, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-20, November.
    21. Fatima Iqbal & Dr. Sadia Farooq & Dr. Sajid Nazir, 2023. "Herd behavior in stock markets during COVID’ 19 Pandemic: A machine learning approach," Journal of Policy Research (JPR), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 9(2), pages 268-273.
    22. Cosmin Octavian Cepoi & Victor Dragotă & Ruxandra Trifan & Andreea Iordache, 2023. "Probability of informed trading during the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of the Romanian stock market," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-27, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mehmet Balcilar & Riza Demirer & Talat Ulussever, 2016. "Does speculation in the oil market drive investor herding in net exporting nations?," Working Papers 15-29, Eastern Mediterranean University, Department of Economics.
    2. Balcılar, Mehmet & Demirer, Rıza & Ulussever, Talat, 2017. "Does speculation in the oil market drive investor herding in emerging stock markets?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 50-63.
    3. Ali, Sara & Badshah, Ihsan & Demirer, Riza, 2023. "Anti-herding by hedge funds and its implications for expected returns," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 31-48.
    4. Omokolade Akinsomi & Mehmet Balcilar & Rıza Demirer & Rangan Gupta, 2017. "The effect of gold market speculation on REIT returns in South Africa: a behavioral perspective," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 41(4), pages 774-793, October.
    5. Demirer, Rıza & Lee, Hsiang-Tai & Lien, Donald, 2015. "Does the stock market drive herd behavior in commodity futures markets?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 32-44.
    6. Puput Tri Komalasari & Marwan Asri & Bernardinus M. Purwanto & Bowo Setiyono, 2022. "Herding behaviour in the capital market: What do we know and what is next?," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(3), pages 745-787, September.
    7. Demirer, Rıza & Kutan, Ali M. & Zhang, Huacheng, 2014. "Do ADR investors herd?: Evidence from advanced and emerging markets," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 138-148.
    8. Pegah Dehghani & Ros Zam Zam Sapian, 2014. "Sectoral herding behavior in the aftermarket of Malaysian IPOs," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 227-246, July.
    9. Xolani Sibande & Rangan Gupta & Riza Demirer & Elie Bouri, 2023. "Investor Sentiment and (Anti) Herding in the Currency Market: Evidence from Twitter Feed Data," Journal of Behavioral Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 56-72, January.
    10. Indārs, Edgars Rihards & Savin, Aliaksei & Lublóy, Ágnes, 2019. "Herding behaviour in an emerging market: Evidence from the Moscow Exchange," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 468-487.
    11. Guney, Yilmaz & Kallinterakis, Vasileios & Komba, Gabriel, 2017. "Herding in frontier markets: Evidence from African stock exchanges," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 152-175.
    12. Balcilar, Mehmet & Demirer, Rıza & Hammoudeh, Shawkat, 2013. "Investor herds and regime-switching: Evidence from Gulf Arab stock markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 295-321.
    13. Rahman, M. Arifur & Chowdhury, Shah Saeed Hassan & Shibley Sadique, M., 2015. "Herding where retail investors dominate trading: The case of Saudi Arabia," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 46-60.
    14. Humayun Kabir, M. & Shakur, Shamim, 2018. "Regime-dependent herding behavior in Asian and Latin American stock markets," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 60-78.
    15. Vassilios Babalos & Mehmet Balcilar & Rangan Gupta, 2014. "Revisiting Herding Behavior in REITs: A Regime-Switching Approach," Working Papers 201448, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    16. Arjoon, Vaalmikki & Bhatnagar, Chandra Shekhar & Ramlakhan, Prakash, 2020. "Herding in the Singapore stock Exchange," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    17. Mehmet Balcilar & Riza Demirer & Shawkat Hammoudeh & Ahmed Khalifa, 2013. "Do Global Shocks Drive Investor Herds in Oil-Rich Frontier Markets?," Working Papers 819, Economic Research Forum, revised Dec 2013.
    18. Lee, Kyuseok, 2017. "Herd behavior of the overall market: Evidence based on the cross-sectional comovement of returns," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 266-284.
    19. Yarovaya, Larisa & Matkovskyy, Roman & Jalan, Akanksha, 2021. "The effects of a “black swan” event (COVID-19) on herding behavior in cryptocurrency markets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    20. Esin Cakan & Rıza Demirer & Rangan Gupta & Hardik A. Marfatia, 2019. "Oil speculation and herding behavior in emerging stock markets," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(1), pages 44-56, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; International Stock Markets; Investor Herding;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pre:wpaper:202089. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Rangan Gupta (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/decupza.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.