Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the Islamic religious occasions can, through their impact on investor sentiment, affect returns in six Arab financial markets. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors test the effect of the occasions of Hajj pilgrimage, Ramadan, Eid-al-Fitr, Mawlid and Ashura during the period of 2001-2016 on Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar and Bahrain financial markets. Three measures of investor sentiment are used: trading volume, high minus low and psychological line index. Findings Higher effect of investor sentiment on returns is detected after Hajj pilgrimage than that before Hajj pilgrimage in all studied financial markets. The positive emotions during Ramadan contribute significantly to the increase in returns in Arab financial markets. Results indicate that most of studied financial markets exhibit a significant effect of investor sentiment on returns during the first 10 days and the second 10 days of Ramadan. Empirical results indicate that Eid-al-Fitr affects the relation between investor sentiment and returns in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Dubai financial markets. Relationship between investor sentiment and returns is not is not significantly affected by the Mawlid occasion, except in the Dubai and Kuwait financial markets. Originality/value The Islamic occasions of the Hajj pilgrimage, Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr affect significantly the relation between investor sentiment and returns.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the volatility spillover between the Chinese stock market, investor’s sentiment and oil market, specifically during the 2014‒2016 turmoil period. Design/methodology/approach This study used the daily and monthly China market price index, oil-price index and composite index of Chinese investor’s sentiment. The authors first use the DCC GARCH model in order to study the correlation between variables. Second, the authors use a continuous wavelet decomposition technique so as to capture both time- and frequency-varying features of co-movement variables. Finally, the authors examine the spillover effects by estimating the BEKK GARCH model. Findings The wavelet coherency results indicate a substantial co-movement between oil and Chinese stock markets in the periods of high volatility. BEKK GARCH model outcomes confirm this relation and report the noteworthy bidirectional transmission of volatility between oil market shocks and the Chinese investor’s sentiment, chiefly in the crisis period. These results support the behavioral theory of contagion and highlight that the Chinese investor’s sentiment is a channel through which shocks are transmitted between the oil and Chinese equity markets. Thus, these results are important for Chinese authorities that should monitor the investor’s sentiment to better control the interaction between financial and real markets. Originality/value This study makes three major contributions to the existing literature. First, it pays attention to the recent 2015 Chinese stock market bumble. Second, it has gone some way toward enhancing our understanding of the volatility spillover between the investor’s sentiment, investor’s sentiment variation, oil prices and stock market returns (variables of interest) during oil and stock market crises. Third, it uses the continuous wavelet decomposition technique since it reveals the linkage between variables of interest at different time horizons.

This paper examines the dynamic relationship between fintech investments and financial performance, and it explores whether the bank size could influence the performance in the context of the digital transformation (digitization). The fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) model is estimated for 23 European banks throughout the whole period ranging from 2010 to 2019 and for the two sub-periods spanning from 2010 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2019. The econometric results evince that fintech are positively and significantly related to the bank profitability, inferring that the greater the digital engagement of banks is, the higher the profitability is. Our findings provide evidence that the bank size is a moderator factor in affecting the relationship between digital investments and the profitability. Hence, larger banks benefit more from investments in the financial technology so as to improve their performance. Our study has substantial policy implications as we suggest that the increased investment in the fintech is a possible channel through which banks improve their performance, particularly when the bank size is considered large.

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