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Oil Prices and Stock Markets: A Review of the Theory and Empirical Evidence

Abstract:
Do oil prices and stock markets move in tandem or in opposite directions? The complex and time varying relationship between oil prices and stock markets has caught the attention of the financial press, investors, policymakers, researchers, and the general public in recent years. In light of such attention, this paper reviews research on the oil price and stock market relationship. The majority of papers we survey study the impacts of oil markets on stock markets, whereas, little research in the reverse direction exists. Our review finds that the causal effects between oil and stock markets depend heavily on whether research is performed using aggregate stock market indices, sectorial indices, or firm-level data and whether stock markets operate in net oil-importing or net oil-exporting countries. Additionally, conclusions vary depending on whether studies use symmetric or asymmetric changes in the price of oil, or whether they focus on unexpected changes in oil prices. Finally, we find that most studies show oil price volatility transmits to stock market volatility, and that including measures of stock market performance improves forecasts of oil prices and oil price volatility. Several important avenues for further research are identified.Keywords: Oil prices, oil price volatility, stock markets, interconnectedness, forecasting, oil-importers, oil-exporters

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Energy Specializations: Petroleum – Markets and Prices for Crude Oil and Products; Energy Investment and Finance – Trading Strategies and Financial Instruments; Energy and the Economy – Energy Shocks and Business Cycles

JEL Codes: Q41: Energy: Demand and Supply; Prices, Q43: Energy and the Macroeconomy, Q35: Hydrocarbon Resources, G12: Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates, Q31: Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation: Demand and Supply; Prices, G14: Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

Keywords: Oil prices, oil price volatility, stock markets, interconnectedness, forecasting, oil-importers, oil-exporters

DOI: 10.5547/01956574.39.5.sdeg

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Published in Volume 39, Number 5 of the bi-monthly journal of the IAEE's Energy Economics Education Foundation.

 

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