Abstract:
The Asian Pacific region is spearheading the post-pandemic economic revival, and exploring regional dynamics is becoming increasingly relevant for researchers. In this regard, stock markets have always profoundly influenced a country's economic health, and its behavior
varies significantly globally. This indicates stock markets' contextualized nature and response to varying incoming information. Therefore, the study examines the interplay of behavioral and developmental factors in selected stock markets from South Asia. This study draws upon data
from 2014 to 2023 and utilizes VAR-based connectedness models to analyze the dynamics of stock market connectedness in the region. This study also considers the influence of pertinent regional climate, security, and economic challenges on stock market behavior. The findings indicate the presence of moderate spillovers among stock markets and from economic, environmental, and security information. Further, most of this spillover is attributed to the markets in developed nations and the economic news sentiments, while climate information's
contagion is increasingly becoming relevant. These findings explain the intricate dynamics of these pertinent variables, significantly adding to the understanding of the region.
