Elsevier established a free COVID-19 resource center in January 2020, offering information in English and Mandarin. The center is hosted on Elsevier Connect, providing access to research for PubMed Central and other repositories. The paper examines how stock markets reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic using data from 64 countries between January 22, 2020, and April 17, 2020. The study finds that stock markets responded negatively to the growth in confirmed cases, with returns declining as cases increased. The market reacted more strongly to confirmed cases than to deaths. The negative reaction was strong in the early days of confirmed cases and again between 40 and 60 days after the initial cases. The study suggests that stock markets quickly respond to the pandemic, with the response varying over time depending on the outbreak's stage. The analysis also shows that stock markets are influenced by international factors and other events, such as the oil price conflict between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The study contributes to the literature by examining the stock market response to the pandemic and the impact of COVID-19 on financial markets. The results indicate that stock markets price in pandemic-related risks early when confirmed cases increase, and react less when some cases result in deaths. The findings highlight the importance of monitoring confirmed cases for stock market reactions.Elsevier established a free COVID-19 resource center in January 2020, offering information in English and Mandarin. The center is hosted on Elsevier Connect, providing access to research for PubMed Central and other repositories. The paper examines how stock markets reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic using data from 64 countries between January 22, 2020, and April 17, 2020. The study finds that stock markets responded negatively to the growth in confirmed cases, with returns declining as cases increased. The market reacted more strongly to confirmed cases than to deaths. The negative reaction was strong in the early days of confirmed cases and again between 40 and 60 days after the initial cases. The study suggests that stock markets quickly respond to the pandemic, with the response varying over time depending on the outbreak's stage. The analysis also shows that stock markets are influenced by international factors and other events, such as the oil price conflict between Saudi Arabia and Russia. The study contributes to the literature by examining the stock market response to the pandemic and the impact of COVID-19 on financial markets. The results indicate that stock markets price in pandemic-related risks early when confirmed cases increase, and react less when some cases result in deaths. The findings highlight the importance of monitoring confirmed cases for stock market reactions.