Market Sentiments, Economic Recovery, and Retail Investors’ Confidence in Healthcare Stocks: Evidence from Post-COVID-19 India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66635/c8xe1b68Keywords:
Market Sentiment, Economic Recovery, Retail Investor Confidence, Healthcare Stocks, Post-COVID-19 IndiaAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered financial markets in India, triggering shifts in investor behaviour and sectoral dynamics. This study investigates the interplay between market sentiments, economic recovery indicators, and retail investors’ confidence in healthcare stocks during the post-COVID-19 period (April 2021–March 2026). Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research analyses a balanced panel of 512 healthcare, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, and hospital stocks using econometric techniques (Fixed Effects, System GMM, and Quantile Regression) alongside a primary survey of 428 active retail investors. Results reveal that positive market sentiments (β = 0.426, p < 0.001) and strong economic recovery indicators (β = 0.381, p < 0.001) significantly enhance retail investor confidence, with a notable synergistic interaction effect (β = 0.294, p < 0.01). Healthcare stocks benefited from their defensive characteristics and growth potential, with retail trading share exceeding 55% by 2025. The findings contribute to behavioural finance and emerging market literature while offering actionable insights for investors, policymakers, and healthcare firms.
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