Table 1 compares the synchronicity of stock returns in some representative
stock markets during the first 26 weeks of 1995. Data from other periods in the
1990s display similar patterns. In emerging markets like China, Malaysia, and
Poland, over 80% of stocks often move in the same direction in a given week. In
Poland, 100% of traded stocks move in the same direction during four of the
twenty six weeks. In contrast, Denmark, Ireland, and the United States lack any