A Network Analysis of the Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on the US Economy: A Comparison of the Return and the Momentum Picture

This study examines a cross-correlation analysis of companies included in the S&P 500 Index at three different intervals: before, during, and after the pandemic's onset. The aim is to evaluate how the pandemic and related governmental actions have affected market structures and economic conditions. This paper introduces the notion of momentum time series, integrating return and volume data. We show that these momentum time series provide unique insights that differ from return time series, suggesting their potential utility in economic analysis. Our analysis employs the Manhattan and Mantegna distances to construct a threshold-based network, which we subsequently scrutinize. Lastly, we evaluate how the pandemic has influenced these outcomes.