Extreme risk spillovers between crude oil and stock markets

- Significantly positive risk spillovers exist from stock to crude oil market.
- Significantly negative risk spillovers exist in the reverse direction.
- Bidirectional positive risk spillovers increase after the financial crisis.
- Substantial risk spillovers occur at lags.
- Both positive and negative risk spillovers exhibit asymmetric correlations.

This paper investigates the spillovers of extreme risks between crude oil and stock markets using daily data of the S&P 500 stock index and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures returns. Based on the method of Granger causality in risk, Value at Risk (VaR) is employed to measure market risk, and a class of kernel-based tests is used to detect negative and positive risk spillover effects. Empirical results reveal that there are significant risk spillovers between the two markets. Extreme movements, past or current, in one market may have a significant predictive power for those in the other market. Prior to the recent financial crisis, there are positive risk spillovers from stock market to crude oil market, and negative spillovers from crude oil market to stock market. After the financial crisis, bidirectional positive risk spillovers are strengthened markedly. The risk spillovers may occur instantaneously, and/or with a (long) time delay. Both positive and negative risk spillover effects exhibit asymmetric correlations.