Oil Prices, Stock Markets and Firm Performance : Evidence from Europe

This paper extends the understanding of the relationship between oil prices, stock markets and financial performance of oil and gas firms over the past decade. Firstly it studies the impact of oil price fluctuations on stock markets in Europe. Secondly, it examines the volatility spillovers between oil and European stock markets. As oil price changes do not equally affect all industries, the study conducts both market-level and sector-level analysis. Thirdly, it examines the impact of crude oil price changes on the financial performance measure of oil and gas firms, both listed and unlisted, from the Western European region.The findings show existence of the one-way directional relationship between oil and most of the European sector stock markets. Furthermore, the results indicate volatility spillovers between returns in oil price and stock markets. It was found that crude oil prices significantly and positively impact the performance of listed oil and gas firms in Western Europe. In the case with unlisted firms, the results suggest existence of other factors that have an impact on their performance. The geopolitical crisis (2014) negatively affected the financial performance of both listed and unlisted firms. On the other hand, financial performance of only listed oil and gas firms was negatively influenced by the global financial crisis (2008-2009)