The Russian-Ukraine Conflict, Crude Oil Price Fluctuation and Dynamic Changes in Stock Market: Evidence from the U.S and China

Abstract

Political struggle is an important factor affecting the pattern of the international oil trade. The escalation of collisions between Russia and Ukraine, and the economic sanctions that the United States and European countries implemented against Russia had a significant impact on Russian oil exports. In this context, it is crucial to study how Chinese and American stock markets react to the burnt of international crude oil prices, in order to understand the phenomenon of risk contagion between markets and prevent risks. This paper selects the settlement prices of the Dow Jones index, S&P 500 index, Nasdaq index, Shanghai index, Shenzhen index, and international crude oil futures prices from three months before the Russian-Ukraine Conflict to the end of May 2022 to illustrate the tolerance to the volatility of two markets, using VAR and ARMA-GARCH model. The empirical results indicated that crude oil price fluctuation has a stronger impact on the US stock market than on the Chinese stock market, and specific stocks act differently during this “black swan incident”.