Behavior of the Return of Shares of Information Technology Companies Listed on B3 During the Covid-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

The worldwide pandemic of the new coronavirus is an external event that has been impacting economic sectors, with the technology sector being positively impacted by an increase in demand for products and services related to information technology. Motivated by the essentiality of the information technology sector, this study aims to analyze the behavior of stock returns of companies in the information technology sector listed on B3 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Descriptive methodology was used, with a quantitative approach for data analysis, regarding the procedures, it was classified as an event study. The initial sample comprised 14 firms from the information technology sector listed in Brazil, Stock Exchange, Counter (B3) and plus the Ibovespa index, 9 firms were eliminated for not presenting results throughout the analyzed period, leaving the final sample with 5 firms, with daily data for the period from 03/12/2019 to 03/12/2021 (2,766 daily observations). The results suggest that the Covid-19 pandemic affected the returns of the information technology sector, which after the start of the pandemic presents returns higher than the Ibovespa Index, however, when analyzing the persistence of returns, the results are significant in only some months. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR]