ABSTRACT
The start of the COVID-19 pandemic and official lockdown announcements had created uncertainty in global business operations. For the first time, the Indian stock market has significantly impacted. India is one of the most important rising economies in the world and has seen the value of its crucial stock indices plummet by about 40%. There are several studies on the impact of the pandemic on the stock market, but very few studies have focused on a comparative analysis of the first and second COVID-19 pandemic waves. The Fama French model of an event study is used to analyze the response of various sectoral indices during the pandemic. Although all industries were briefly damaged, the financial industry was the hardest hit. Industries such as pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and information technology had favorable or minor effects in both waves. The second wave had an insignificant impact compared to the first one, clearly indicating optimism and normality in the market despite the looming pandemic threat. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.