“…Critical analysis of responses and behavioral changes in stock markets of emerging and developing markets in a new normal time horizon has garnered growing traction amongst academicians and practitioners owing to enormous practical relevance ( Ashraf, 2020 , Ashraf, 2021 , Dong et al, 2021 , Yousfi et al, 2021 , Ali et al, 2022 , Yuan et al, 2023 ). In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the degree of uncertainty of financial markets regarding the ever-changing external news is arduous and extremely important to monitor ( Cepoi, 2020 , Apostolakis et al, 2021 , Rehman et al, 2022 ).…”