- Silvio Contessi: Department of Banking and Finance, Monash Business School, P.O. Box 197, Caulfield East, VIC 3145, Australia.
- Pierangelo De Pace: Department of Economics, Pomona College, 425 N College Avenue, Carnegie 205, Claremont, CA 91711, USA.
We identify periods of mildly explosive dynamics and collapses in the stock markets of 18 major countries during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. We find statistical evidence of instability transmission from the Chinese stock market to all other markets. The recovery is heterogeneous and generally non-explosive.