Linkages and co-movement between international stock market returns: Case of Dow Jones Islamic Dubai Financial Market index

•We analyze the investors strategy between international stock markets.•We examine the existence of flight to quality between stock market and Islamic Bonds (Sukuk).•We investigate the interdependence between some international stock indices and the LIBOR's effect.•Pure contagion was found between some Islamic stock indices.•GCC and Saudi stock index is leading DUBAI Stock market by about 3 h.

Using wavelet techniques (discrete and continuous), this paper is the first attempt to investigate the co-movement dynamics at different time scales or horizons of Islamic Dubai Financial Market (DFM-UAE) index returns with their counterpart regional Islamic indices returns such as GCC index, ASEAN index, Developing Countries index, Emerging Countries Index, and the Global Sukuk. Finally, we examine the impact of the LIBOR on the Islamic DFM-UAE return. Our first finding is that the two markets DFM_UAE, and (GCC and Saudi) are converging, in the long run, to the same level of risk and volatility with the Global Sukuk index. The wavelet analysis based on betas indicates a strong non-homogeneous correlation across scales and for different periods of time. Closer markets tend to suggest a contagion effect showing higher correlation and higher interdependence with a certain time delay. Evidence shows a flight to quality to the less risky Sukuk market mostly during the last financial crisis. The lead–lag analysis tends to indicate that the GCC leads DFM-UAE which leads Sukuk. Finally, this study sheds further light on the important leading impact of the overnight LIBOR on the returns of Islamic stock indices especially during the big changes or under shocks indicating policy implications for portfolio diversification for the international investors. The results are plausible and intuitive and have strong policy implications.