Impact of Covid-19: Evidence from Malaysian Stock Market

Abstract

Since the first case was reported at the end of 2019, COVID-19 has spread throughout the world resulting in more than 2 million confirmed cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) also declared the COVID-19 disease as pandemic on 11 March 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the global financial market, which includes Malaysia. This study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Malaysian stock market. The dependent variables used in this study were the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) and 13 other sectorial indices. The independent variables were (i) the number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia, China, and USA; (ii) the number of deaths due to COVID-19 in Malaysia, China, and USA; (iii) the volatility index, and (iv) the Brent oil price. The sample period of this study covered from 31st December 2019 to 18th April 2020. The findings showed that higher numbers of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia tended to adversely affect the performance of the KLCI index and all sectorial indices, except for the Real Estate Investment Fund (REIT) index. The results also showed that the Brent oil price and the volatility index tended to affect the Malaysian stock market performance. The results of this study can help investors understand the impact of COVID-19 on different sectors in Malaysia.