Linear and Nonlinear Causal Nexus between Oil Price Changes and Stock Returns in India : An Empirical Assessment

This paper examines both the linear and nonlinear causal relationship between crude oil price changes and stock market returns in India. In particular, the study applies alternative unit root tests with and without structural break to ascertain the shifts in crude oil price changes and stock market returns for the period 1991:01 to 2013:08. The linear and nonlinear causality tests are conducted using the standard Vector Autoregression (VAR) and the Diks and Panchenko (2006) frameworks respectively. The results from the unit root tests indicate that crude oil price changes and stock market returns are stationary. The results from the standard VAR model provide evidence of unidirectional causality from stock returns to crude oil price changes. The results of the Diks-Panchenko causality test, however, support nonlinear bidirectional causality between the two variables