“The winner takes it all: investor sentiment and the Eurovision Song Contest” in Journal of Banking & Finance has been selected for inclusion in the Elsevier Research Selection

The winner takes it all: investor sentiment and the Eurovision Song Contest

Journal of Banking & Finance | doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2022.106432

Eurovision victory predicts stock market boost for the winning country

What do ABBA and stock markets have in common? Unpredicted mood change can cause a positive market reaction – but is this true for the winning country of the Eurovision Song Contest? Research published in Journal of Banking & Finance analyzed data from the history of Eurovision song contest winners as well as international stock returns at the time of victory. The results showed that a Eurovision victory positively and significantly affects the winning country's stock market, with an average abnormal return of approximately 0.35% on the first trading day following the victory. Conversely, the data finds stock market returns of the losing countries are statistically insignificant.