The relationship between COVID-19 (cases and deaths) and stock markets: An analysis to help in decision making

ABSTRACT

The numbers of COVID-19 increase daily, both confirmed cases and deaths. All over the world, shock waves are felt with impacts on economies in general and the financial sector in particular. Aiming to assess the relationship between confirmed cases and deaths and the behaviour of stock markets, the authors perform a dynamic analysis, based on the Pearson correlation coefficient, for 10 of the most affected countries in the world. As expected, they find evidence that the number of COVID-19 cases had a negative effect on stock markets, and that the current second wave is penalizing them. They also find that deaths have a more relevant impact than the number of confirmed cases. © 2021, IGI Global.