This paper attempts to explore the direct effects and spill-overs of COVID-19 on stock markets. Using conventional t-tests and non-parametric Mann–Whitney tests, we empirically analyse daily return data from stock markets in the People’s Republic of China, Italy, South Korea, France, Spain, Germany, Japan and the United States of America. Our empirical results show that (i) COVID-19 has a negative but short-term impact on stock markets of affected countries and that (ii) the impact of COVID-19 o