Abstract
The paper aims to detect the differences in stock market performance between companies from the alternative energy sector and main stock market sectors in the first and second years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used Global Industry Classification Standard to analyse eleven main stock market sectors and the alternative energy sector. Based on the one-factor variance analysis—ANOVA, we reveal the statistically significant differences between the analysed stock market sectors in both 2020 and 2021. The analysis implied that the performance of stock market companies during COVID-19 is sector-specific. Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) test for pairwise comparison indicates that the alternative energy sector shows the most differentiation. Its average rate of return in 2020 is the highest and is significantly different for all eleven stock market sectors, while the top constituents from the conventional energy and financial sectors suffered the most. In 2021, a reverse trend in the stock prices can be observed. Companies from the conventional energy and financial sectors achieved the highest positive average weekly rates of return among all of the analysed stock market sectors, while the alternative energy sector performed significantly worse than the other sectors did. Nevertheless, throughout the entire analyses period of 2020–2021, the companies from the alternative energy sector turned out to be the biggest stock market beneficiaries. This study might imply that the COVID-19 pandemic has not hampered but has instead accelerated growing concerns about the environment and climate change.
Highlights
Published: 23 December 2021Pandemics, i.e., large-scale outbreaks of infectious diseases, disturb the health status of the population and contribute to the depopulation of the Earth, and hamper economic growth and induce uncertainty and panic in the financial market
The present paper aims to assess how companies from the alternative energy sector perform during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to companies from other main stock market sectors
The present paper aims to detect the differences in stock market performance between companies from the alternative energy sector and main stock market sectors in the first and second years of the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
I.e., large-scale outbreaks of infectious diseases, disturb the health status of the population and contribute to the depopulation of the Earth, and hamper economic growth and induce uncertainty and panic in the financial market. Even if we cannot prevent infectious diseases from emerging, we should be better prepared to dampen their socio-economic effects [2]. The paper focuses on the stock market. Changes in share prices reflect market expectations in current and future situations in a given industry and change in terms of macroeconomic variables such as demand and restrictions in supply [3]. Stock market prices are more readily available than macroeconomic indicators such as the unemployment rate and GDP growth rate, so they allow the effects of a crisis period to be analysed, even during the crisis’ initial phases
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