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Leverage Risk, Financial Crisis, and Stock Returns: A Comparison among Islamic, Conventional, and Socially Responsible Stocks

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  • BHATT , VAISHNAVI

    (Ramaiah Institute of Management Studies,)

  • SULTAN, JAHANGIR

    (The Hughey Center for Financial Services, Bentley University)

Abstract

According to the financial press, firms with low leverage have lower distress risk due to their reduced exposure to the credit market, especially during credit crises. Compared to their conventional and socially responsible (SRI) counterparts, sharia compliant (SC) stocks are low-leverage stocks. Our hypothesis is that SC firms would be less sensitive to leverage risk and thus would be ideal for wealth preservation during declining market environment. We find that the leverage risk factor performs consistently across various categories of firms and its impact is more pronounced during the recent financial crisis. However, we also find that compared to the conventional stocks, SC stocks are also quite sensitive to the leverage factor. In contrast, the SRI class of stocks has the least sensitivity to leverage risk factor, suggesting they can be attractive for wealth preservation during credit crises.

Suggested Citation

  • Bhatt , Vaishnavi & Sultan, Jahangir, 2012. "Leverage Risk, Financial Crisis, and Stock Returns: A Comparison among Islamic, Conventional, and Socially Responsible Stocks," Islamic Economic Studies, The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), vol. 20, pages 87-143.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:isecst:0020
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Abdullahi , Shafiu Ibrahim, 2021. "Islamic equities and COVID-19 pandemic: measuring Islamic stock indices correlation and volatility in period of crisis," Islamic Economic Studies, The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), vol. 29, pages 50-66.
    4. Isiker, Murat & Tas, Oktay, 2021. "Does leverage level matter for return anomaly during rights issue announcements? The case of Islamic countries," Islamic Economic Studies, The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), vol. 28, pages 141-155.
    5. Alhomaidi, Asem & Hassan, M. Kabir & Hippler, William J. & Mamun, Abdullah, 2019. "The impact of religious certification on market segmentation and investor recognition," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 28-48.
    6. Safika Praveen Sheikh & Shafkat Shafi Dar & Sajad Ahmad Rather, 2020. "Volatility Contagion and Portfolio Diversification among Shariah and Conventional Indices: An Evidence by MGARCH Models عدوى التقلبات و تنوع التصورات في أحكام الشريعة الإسلامية والأحكام التقليدية: إثب," Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics Institute., vol. 33(1), pages 35-55, January.
    7. Asem Alhomaidi & M. Kabir Hassan & William J. Hippler, 2018. "The Effect of Implicit Market Barriers on Stock Trading and Liquidity," NFI Working Papers 2018-WP-02, Indiana State University, Scott College of Business, Networks Financial Institute.
    8. Al-Khazali, Osamah & Lean, Hooi Hooi & Samet, Anis, 2014. "Do Islamic stock indexes outperform conventional stock indexes? A stochastic dominance approach," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 29-46.

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