Abstract:

This study's goal is to ascertain how COVID-19 will affect the PSX-100 stock exchange index. This analysis makes use of information on closing prices at the sector level, deaths, recoveries, and 2021 PSX 100 positive cases. The results of the current study are in direct opposition to those of earlier studies, which claimed that COVID-19 had a negative impact on established stock markets. We conclude that the PSX 100 index has verified favorable stock return growth. According to the study's findings. This finding is consistent with a large body of research on pandemics and investor uncertainty and has withstood multiple robustness check exercises. According to the analysis, companies with stronger pre-2020 financial standing, lower pandemic risk, less entrenched leaders, and higher levels of social responsibility activity were less likely to experience a stock price decline due to the pandemic. The results also show that, in terms of performance, firms with more corporate ownership performed better than those with higher ownership of hedge funds. Additional research can be done by including variables connected to COVID-19 at the global level along with others like economic growth, interest rate, and inflation rate. However, this effect is transient, which may be attributable to a prompt regulatory response and Pakistani investors' lowrisk tolerance. it's crucial to remember that a developing nation like Pakistan cannot use a daily database to analyze the effects of COVID-19 on economic activity10. Additionally, since the first COVID-19 case in Pakistan surfaced on February 25, 2020, it is impossible to offer opinions on how COVID-19 would affect the level of uncertainty in Pakistan's stock market and foreign exchange. Second, the impact of COVID-19, which struck Pakistan in February 2020, maybe lessened further because the majority of Pakistan's age groups have already received the necessary vaccinations. It is difficult to remark on how COVID-19 may affect investors' long-term level of uncertainty (as it relates to the stock market and exchange markets). Researchers may later be able to offer some insights into COVID-19's long-term effects if vaccination effectiveness remained poor and the disease maintained infecting patients. This is something we'll leave up to future study.

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