Diversification Perspectives of a Single Equity Market: Analysis on the Example of Selected CEE Countries

Abstract

The study addresses the benefits of a unified stock market in terms of diversification risk for the eight CEE stock markets. For this purpose, each stock market was treated as a separate portfolio based on the companies listed during 2018–2019. Portfolio diversification techniques were used to identify risk linked with the eight Central Eastern European stock markets. The results show that the stock market with the lowest diversification risk was the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, followed by the Prague Stock Exchange, the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, and at the end stands the Zagreb Stock Exchange. The portfolio constructed from the Zagreb Stock Exchange carries the highest portfolio risk, but it also offers the highest weekly weighted average returns. Stock markets that benefit in terms of portfolio risk from unification are the Bratislava Stock Exchange, the Budapest Stock Exchange, the Bucharest Stock Exchange, the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and the Zagreb Stock Exchange. The indexes where the portfolio risk increases at the time of unification are the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, and the Prague Stock Exchange. From a managerial perspective, financial investors get a novel outlook on the diversification possibilities offered within a hypothetical unified CEE stock market.