The market values of Chinese energy firms during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Chinese energy firms’ market values by using event study approach. First, we find that the cumulative abnormal return (CAR) of energy firms significantly decreases 2.7–10.6% on average due to the negative shock of COVID-19 on energy market. Second, we present that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance could significantly reduce the negative market reaction of energy firms during COVID-19. Finally, in using the intervention policy of various cities as exogenous shocks, we provide evidence that stock returns of energy firms significantly increase after cities where firms located in issued lockdown policies.