The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the stock market trading value around the world

The paper aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on various stock markets around the world by applying the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique. To be specific, we investigated the relationship between monthly growth in newly reported COVID-19 cases and monthly market transaction value growth in 46 stock markets around the world from December 2019 to January 2021. The findings revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic produced a positive effect on the trading value of the stock markets, which are complementary to the results of prior papers in the early period of the epidemic. Therefore, from the individual perspective, the stock market is a relevant source for compensating the foregone earnings caused by the disruption of economic activities. From the managerial perspective, appropriate conditions such as financial support for investors and listed companies, improvements in technological infrastructure and administrative procedures should be provided to maintain the activities of the stock markets - which contribute a lot to the recovery of the national financial system.