Impact of the COVID-19 virus on MENA stock market

This study examines the influence of contagious infectious diseases, specifically COVID-19, on stock market behavior. With the global emergence of COVID-19, we have witnessed not only the health implications of a pandemic but also its profound social and economic repercussions, exacerbated by the implementation of lockdown measures. Utilizing panel data analysis, we assess the impact of disseminated information regarding the virus on the stock markets of the MENA region. Our findings reveal that the daily increases in both total confirmed cases and total deaths attributable to COVID-19 have a consistently significant and negative effect on stock returns across all observed markets. In conclusion, our analysis confirms that the spread of COVID-19 has had a detrimental impact on stock market returns in the MENA region. This underscores the vulnerability of financial markets to global health crises and highlights the necessity for market participants to consider health-related information as a significant factor in risk assessment and investment decision-making processes.