Abstract
This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Chinese A-share stock market and the role of financial media in shaping investor perceptions and behaviour during times of uncertainty. Recognizing the media’s crucial role for uninformed investors, the research employs agenda-setting theory to explore reporting strategies and sentiment tendencies of financial media. The study analyses 5,988 news articles related to 239 IPOs in China during 2022, incorporating financial and non-financial variables. Sentiment analysis relies on Chinese word tokenization techniques and financial sentiment lexicons, involving text disassembly, keyword extraction, and sentiment value calculation. Empirical findings reveal a heightened negative sentiment in IPO news during uncertainty, particularly in news headlines. The COVID-19 pandemic is frequently cited in news, providing explanations for weak company performance before going public. Technology, electronics, intelligence, materials, energy, medical, automotive, and bio sectors receive substantial media attention according to keyword analysis. Notably, a positive correlation is observed between asset, revenue, first-day returns, issue price, and first-day turnover ratio with media attention, suggesting a potential bias toward larger, impactful companies. Despite increasing media attention on IPO overvaluation, regression analysis reveals no pandemic-induced impact on the relationship between media coverage and IPO underpricing or overvaluation. In summary, this research sheds light on the role of financial media reporting during uncertain times, offering insights into evolving media attention and sentiment toward IPO firms in the late pandemic period. The study’s outcomes hold timely implications for academics, regulators, and practitioners, providing valuable understanding of media coverage dynamics and strategies.
Presenters
Yuhuang LyuPhD Student, School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University, Cardiff [Caerdydd GB-CRD], United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
STOCK MARKET, IPO, INVESTOR, MEDIA ATTENTION, SENTIMENT ANALYSIS, AGENDA-SETTING, COVID-19
