Investor sentiment and local bias in extreme circumstances: The case of the Blitz

Abstract

Please cite this article as: Urquhart, A., Hudson, R.,Investor sentiment and local bias in extreme circumstances: The case of the Blitz, Research in International Business and Finance (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.ribaf.2015.09.010 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. The period of the Blitz is very interesting in that one of the world's major financial centres was under regular and severe air attack, as were many other industrial and commercial centres. These conditions provide a unique opportunity to study both investor sentiment and local bias effects in extreme circumstances. We show that negative investor sentiment during the Blitz as a whole was not evident. However major bombings in London generate negative investor sentiment on stock returns while major bombings outside of London generate no negative investor sentiment on stock returns, which is consistent with local bias effects.

Geopolitical risks and the oil-stock nexus over 1899–2016

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