Athens University of Economics and Business, Department of Accounting and Finance
Δράκος, Κωνσταντίνος
Επίσκοπος, Aθανάσιος
The aim of this thesis is to examine whether and how the ex-ante liquidity risk affected the performance of stocks in major European equities during the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly those comprising the Eurostoxx 50 index. This health crisis has led to an important and sharp decline in economic activity in Europe and elsewhere, which in turn instigated an unprecedented monetary and fiscal response, and, of course, an abrupt and large increase in volatility in financial markets. Many have compared this period to the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 in terms of the severity of the effects the pandemic had on real and financial asset values, making this period a natural experiment for various theories in Finance that aim to test the relation of risk to other financial values.In our context, the hypothesis that was formed and tested is that stocks with high pre-coronavirus liquidity risk would face a larger decline during the pandemic, or, in other words, that there is a negative relationship between ex-ante liquidity risk and stock returns. The hypothesis is based on prior studies conducting the same investigation during the global financial crisis of 2007-2009.The findings of the thesis cannot verify the main hypothesis. Instead, they show that there was no significant relationship between the ex-ante liquidity risk of the stocks and their performance during the period examined (March-September 2020). This confirms similar results that have appeared elsewhere in the relevant literature. Hence, this thesis contributes to the ongoing debate on this issue by providing some further supplementary evidence from the European markets in the grim albeit unique conditions offered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pandemic
Liquidity risk
Stock performance
Ρίσκο ρευστότητας
Αποδόσεις μετοχών
Πανδημία