SARS: a non-event for affected countries’ stock markets?

The impact of SARS on the stock markets of Canada, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, is examined. The leading stock indices of these countries during the SARS outbreak are compared with a non-SARS period and also with the S&P 1200 Global Index. Conventional t-tests and the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test are used for the study. It is concluded that SARS had no negative impact on the affected countries' stock markets with the exception of China and Vietnam.