A Comparative Study of Chinese and American Stock Markets in the Context of the COVID-19- A Comparative Analysis of Several Crises

Abstract

In the context of COVID-19, this paper compares the stock market performance and financial policies between China and the United States, as well as the similarities and differences of SARS in 2002, the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis in 2008, the U.S.-China trade frictions in 2018 and the COVID-19 in terms of these events impact on stock markets. By reviewing literature and event studies, this paper conducts a cross-sectional comparison and a longitudinal comparison of the Chinese and U.S. stock markets respectively. The study shows that the impact of COVID-19 on China is far less than that of the U.S. China adopted a more accommodative and longer-lasting financial policy which increased the stock markets independence significantly through sudden crisis events. The findings will help scholars to understand the performance of the U.S. and Chinese stock markets under several crisis events and the changes in the Chinese stock market over time.