A Russian carol: impact and dependence on global equity markets during the Ukraine invasion

PurposeThe authors present a study of the short-term impact of the Russian–Ukrainian war on global equity returns. The study aims to show that the conflict was priced into markets and whether the intensity of the impact depends on economic factors, such as dependence on gas, or/and political factors, such as belonging to the former Soviet power circle.Design/methodology/approachUsing the event study and a sample of 77 capital markets, accounting for over 99% of global capitalisation, the authors apply a system of seemingly unrelated regressions to the daily returns of the indices, isolating the short-term effect on the markets and finally apply cross-sectional methods to help determine the size and variability of the impact.FindingsThe authors show that the impact is concentrated around day zero but is relevant in the days before and after. In addition, the authors show that being in the Soviet orbit and NATO simultaneously, as well as having high gas consumption and importing gas from Russia were key factors for investors.Originality/valueThis study is the first to try to discern whether the impact on stock markets caused by the war in Ukraine is due to purely economic factors, especially energy, or whether there is also a geopolitical component. Specifically, whether the countries closest to Russia are being more threatened by the fact that they are closer to Russia.