The study investigates the safe haven properties and sustainability of the top five cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Monero, and Ripple) and gold for BRICS stock markets during the COVID-19 crisis period from 31 January 2020 to 17 September 2020 in comparison to the precrisis period from 1 January 2016 to 30 January 2020, in a nonlinear and asymmetric framework using Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) methodology. Our results show that the relationship dynamics of stock market and cryptocurrency returns both in the short and long run are changing during the COVID-19 crisis period, which justifies our study using the nonlinear and asymmetric model. As far as a sustainable safe haven is concerned, Dash and Ripple are found to be a safe haven for all the five markets before the pandemic. However, all five cryptocurrencies are found to be a safe haven for three emerging markets, such as Brazil, China, and Russia, during the financial crisis. In a comparative framework, gold is found to be a suitable safe haven only for Brazil and Russia. The results have implications for index fund managers of BRICS markets to include Dash and Ripple in their portfolio as safe haven assets to protect its value during a stock market crisis.

The connectedness dynamics between large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks is investigated using the forecasted error variance decomposition (FEVD) spillover framework of Diebold and Yilmaz in the time-frequency domain. Total volatility spillover (i.e., connectedness) is elevated between large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks during the study period. This high level of spillover exists in the short run only, and declines gradually in the medium to long run, thus providing opportunities for portfolio diversification (hedging) in multi-cap investing during the medium-to-long run (short run) only. Like total connectedness, a similar pattern of bilateral connectedness is observed between either of the two indices, thus providing a similar opportunity in the short and long runs. The mid-cap index emerges as the major contributor to total volatility in the system, followed by the small- and large-cap indices, during the analyzed period. The volatility spillover is time-varying in both the time and frequency domains.

This study examined the efficacy of the Put–Call Ratio (PCR), a widely used information ratio measured in terms of volume and open interest, in predicting market return at different time scale. Volume PCR was found to be an efficient predictor of the market return in a short period of 2.5 days and open interest PCR in a long period of 12 days. Thus, traders and portfolio managers should use the appropriate PCR depending upon the time horizon of their trade and investment. The results are robust even after controlling for the information generated from the futures market.

We investigated the Granger causal relationship between the consumption of power both at the aggregate and sectoral level and economic growth in India using the frequency domain approach, which would help policy makers seek the efficient allocation of electricity via proper policy initiatives at different frequencies. We find that at the aggregate level, unidirectional causality runs from the total power consumption to economic growth, starting from the second up to the seventh quarter. In the sectoral context, the results are different. Since there is no causality between industrial power consumption and economic growth; therefore, an energy conservation policy can thus be implemented for the industrial sector. Moreover, since a bidirectional causality exists after 15 quarters for the commercial sector, a short-term policy but not an energy conservation policy could also be initiated for this sector. In the industrial and agricultural sectors, a promotional policy should be initiated because a unidirectional causality exists from sectoral power consumption to economic growth. Therefore, different and sector-specific policies would be more appropriate than a single policy for all power sectors in India in order to orient the efficient utilisation of power towards better economic development.