Intensity of shock transmission amid US-BRICS markets

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the intensity of transmission of shocks from USA to BRICS countries in the long-run and short-run deviations and swiftness of recovery during US subprime mortgage crisis. This analysis enables the authors to explore the evolving patterns of relationships between these markets and examine whether their co-movements altered either in response to international shocks that originated in advanced markets like USA or due to their domestic fluctuations.

Employing data of daily stock market indices (open and close) of BRICS countries for the period January 2, 2001 to May 31, 2012, this paper examines the interactions and characteristics of price movements of BRICS with US market by applying co-integration tests, vector error correction model and Granger causality relationship. The daily stock market indices data are derived from respective stock exchange web sites.

The results exhibit that both long-run co-integration relationships and short-run Granger causality relationships exist between the stock markets of US-BRICS. Furthermore, this nexus is amplified in the short-run during 2007-2009, when the subprime mortgage financial crisis in the USA cropped up. This finding lends support to the prominence of developed (US) market links in the proliferation of persistent co-movements of BRICS stock markets.

The findings imply an increasing degree of global market integration due to quick dissemination of global shocks originating from developed market like USA, and swift recovery which can be attributed to the increased resilience, consistent with the moderated level of domestically driven risk in the BRICS markets. In spite of their similarities, long-run and short-run interdependences with the US stock market exhibit differences among the BRICS. This can be attributed to the regional heterogeneity in long-run risk and return co-movements with the USA.

Changes from the US index easily affect these stock markets in the short-run, which implies that the US index may act as a leading indicator for investing funds in BRICS markets.

This study would enable the authors to understand whether BRICS economies actually remain resilient to adverse developments in USA and could serve as alternative investment destinations for global portfolio diversification.