Lockdown vs. Opening-Up of the Economy During the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Indian Stock Market

Abstract

This paper examined the impact of the lockdown and opening-up of India during the COVID-19 pandemic on eleven Indian stock market indices. Using an event study methodology, we found that the lockdown has adversely affected financial services and consumer durables. We show the pharmaceutical sectors exploited the pandemic-induced panic and created artificial demand for medicine. Therefore, policy makers need to be vigilant regarding prices of pharmaceutical products during the pandemic.