Comparing sentiment and sentiment shock in stock returns

Purpose: The authors compare sentiment level with sentiment shock from different angles to determine which measure better captures the relationship between sentiment and stock returns. Design/methodology/approach: This paper examines the relationship between investor sentiment and contemporaneous stock returns. It also proposes a model of systems science to explain the empirical findings. Findings: The authors find that sentiment shock has a higher explanatory power on stock returns than sentiment itself, and sentiment shock beta exhibits a much higher statistical significance than sentiment beta. Compared with sentiment level, sentiment shock has a more robust linkage to the market factors and the sentiment shock is more responsive to stock returns. Originality/value: This is the first study to compare sentiment level and sentiment shock. It concludes that sentiment shock is a better indicator of the relationship between investor sentiment and contemporary stock returns.