Systematic Risk Factors and Stock Return Volatility

This study analyzes the transmission of systematic risk exhaling from macroeconomic fundamentals to volatility of stock market by using auto regressive generalized auto regressive conditional heteroskedastic (AR-GARCH) and vector auto regressive (VAR) models. Systematic risk factors used in this study are industrial production, real interest rate, inflation, money supply and exchange rate from 2000-2014. Results indicate that there exists relationship among the volatility of macroeconomic factors and that of stock returns in Pakistan. The relationship among the volatility of macroeconomic variables and that of stock returns is bidirectional; both affect each other in different dynamics

Inclusive Education in Government Primary Schools: Teacher Perceptions

The perceptions of primary school teachers towards inclusive education was investigated in mainstream government schools of Islamabad capital territory where inclusive education was being supported by Sight savers and other international organizations. The study was carried out involving 54 teachers in six randomly selected primary schools. The sampled group comprised both, teachers trained in inclusive education and teachers working in same schools, but not trained in inclusive education. Purposive sampling method was used to select the teachers. Structured questionnaire (Likert Scale) and structured interview method was used for data collection. The results of the study revealed that inclusive education is considered to be a desirable practice. The teachers believed that all learners regardless of their disabilities should be in regular classrooms and they showed more favorable attitude towards children with mild disabilities, but were not very optimistic about children with severe disabilities. The study also recognized teachers’ capacity as an essential component of inclusive education and recommends that inclusive education should be a part of pre and in-service teacher education

Performance of Islamic and Conventional Banks in Pakistan: A Comparative Study

This study is conducted to find out financial performance of Islamic and conventional banks operating in Pakistan for the year 2006-2014. For comparison purpose five Islamic and five similar sized conventional banks have been selected. The comparison has been made on average values of different ratios of both Islamic and conventional banks. The comparison shows that Islamic banks performance has been better in terms of efficiency, return and asset quality. However Islamic banks are struggling in terms of advances, investment, liquidity, deposits and capital as conventional banks performance is better in these areas. Islamic banks are charging higher spread and share of distributable income to depositors is far less as compared to conventional banks. Islamic banks need to focus on fair distribution of profit to its depositors in order to increase its credibility and help in achieving overall Islamic socio economic objectives of justice and equality. Islamic banks should focus on new products development and innovative solutions to meet client's needs, also Islamic banks needs to strengthen their equity base.    Keywords: Financial Performance, Financial Ratios, Comparison, Islamic banks, Conventional Banks JEL Classifications: E44, G2

The Impact of Stock Market Performance on Foreign Portfolio Investment in China

The research is aimed at investigating the impact of stock market performance and inflation on foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in China. For this purpose, time series quarterly data from 2007Q1 to 2015Q4 is used. On the basis of stationarity results, ARDL model is used to examine the impact of the stock market prices and inflation on FPI. The results show that there is significant positive impact of stock market performance on the FPI, whereas inflation is found to be negatively associated with the FPI. The study also reveals that some historical events like Asian financial crisis of 2008, and the Shanghai Composite Stock Index crash of 2015, significantly affected the foreign portfolio investment in China. The investors should consider these two factors while investing in foreign financial markets. Keywords: Stock Market Performance, Inflation, FPI, China JEL Classifications: F21, G11, O16, P4

Does Dividend Announcement Generate Market Signal? Evidence from Pakistan

This study is aimed at investigating the signaling effect of cash dividend announcements by employing the standard event methodology over the companies listed on Karachi Stock Exchange. The companies are randomly selected from different sectors that have announced cash dividends during calendar year 2010 and total 30 companies are included in the study. The standard event methodology is applied to explore the impact of cash dividend announcements upon stock returns and an event window of 15 days with dividend announcement date as the event day is constructed. The results show that the average abnormal returns, by and large, remained positive and statistically significant in post-event window days. The results of study tend to support dividend signaling hypothesis indicating that the dividend announcement may be used as a tool to generate positive signals in the market. Keywords: Dividend Announcements, Event Window, Abnormal Returns and t-Test JEL Classifications: F65; G

Testing overconfidence bias in Pakistani stock market

Abstract: Excessive trading phenomenon is contrary to the concept of traditional finance that is based on the rational expectation theorem and efficient market hypothesis. Therefore, this study is aimed at exploring the existence of overconfidence behavior in the stock market. The market-wide panel VAR model is used to investigate the lead-lag relationship between stock returns and turnover. Our results suggest that investors are overconfident in Pakistani stock market because turnover depends directly upon stock returns. The findings have important implications for investors and brokers for developing appropriate trading strategy

Systematic risk factors and stock return volatility

This study analyzes the transmission of systematic risk exhaling from macroeconomic fundamentals to volatility of stock market by using auto regressive generalized auto regressive conditional heteroskedastic (AR-GARCH) and vector auto regressive (VAR) models. Systematic risk factors used in this study are industrial production, real interest rate, inflation, money supply and exchange rate from 2000-2014. Results indicate that there exists relationship among the volatility of macroeconomic factors and that of stock returns in Pakistan. The relationship among the volatility of macroeconomic variables and that of stock returns is bidirectional; both affect each other in different dynamics. JEL code: C32, C58, G11, G1

SYSTEMATIC RISK FACTORS AND STOCK RETURN VOLATILITY

This study analyzes the transmission of systematic risk exhaling from macroeconomic fundamentals to volatility of stock market by using auto regressive generalized auto regressive conditional heteroskedastic (AR-GARCH) and vector auto regressive (VAR) models. Systematic risk factors used in this study are industrial production, real interest rate, inflation, money supply and exchange rate from 2000-2014. Results indicate that there exists relationship among the volatility of macroeconomic factors and that of stock returns in Pakistan. The relationship among the volatility of macroeconomic variables and that of stock returns is bidirectional; both affect each other in different dynamics

Testing overconfidence bias in Pakistani stock market

Excessive trading phenomenon is contrary to the concept of traditional finance that is based on the rational expectation theorem and efficient market hypothesis. Therefore, this study is aimed at exploring the existence of overconfidence behavior in the stock market. The market-wide panel VAR model is used to investigate the lead–lag relationship between stock returns and turnover. Our results suggest that investors are overconfident in Pakistani stock market because turnover depends directly upon stock returns. The findings have important implications for investors and brokers for developing appropriate trading strategy

Macroeconomic factors and foreign portfolio investment volatility: A case of South Asian countries

Macroeconomic factors play a pivotal role in attracting foreign investment in the country. This study investigates the relationship between macroeconomic factors and foreign portfolio investment volatility in South Asian countries. The monthly data is collected for the period ranging from 2000 to 2012 for four Asian countries i.e. China, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka because monthly data is ideal for measuring portfolio investment volatility. For measuring volatility in foreign portfolio investment, GARCH (1,1) is used because shocks are responded quickly by this model. The results reveal that there exists significant relationship between macroeconomic factors and foreign portfolio investment volatility. Thus, less volatility in international portfolio flows is associated with high interest rate, currency depreciation, foreign direct investment, lower inflation, and higher GDP growth rate of the host country. Thus findings of this study suggest that foreign portfolio investors focus on stable macroeconomic environment of country