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Foreign economic policy uncertainty and U.S. equity returns

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Abstract

We document that foreign economic policy uncertainty (EPUF) has significant incremental predictive power for excess U.S. stock returns in the presence of domestic EPU, both in aggregate and for returns of portfolios constructed on firm characteristics, for 6 to 12-months-ahead horizons. We find that EPUF shocks primarily transmit to equity prices through cash flow news rather than the discount rate news channel. We examine whether responses of select macro-financial variables to an adverse EPUF shock are consistent with this transmission mechanism. Corporate investment outlays, payouts, and aggregate credit demand decline in response to such a shock.

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  • Mohammad R. Jahan-Parvar & Yuriy Kitsul & Jamil Rahman & Beth Anne Wilson, 2024. "Foreign economic policy uncertainty and U.S. equity returns," International Finance Discussion Papers 1401, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgif:1401
    DOI: 10.17016/IFDP.2024.1401
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic policy uncertainty; Cash flows; Discount rates; ICAPM; Return predictability; Transmission channels;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • E20 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • E30 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)

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