An Investigation of the Price Index Convergence Emphasizing on Iran Stock Market

In this research, the hypothesis of convergence of the stock price indices in selected countries over the period from January 2007 to February 2017 has been investigated.
Cluster analysis method is used for estimation purposes in the present study.
The results did not confirm the overall convergence of the stock markets under investigation. However, there are two convergent clusters and one non-convergent (divergent) cluster among those stock markets. The results also showed that Iran stock market doesn’t behave independently and there is a tendency towards convergence with other international stock markets.
This tendency towards convergence might have taken place through two channels: first; through the effect of international volatility of oil and other commodities on Iran stock market and second; through foreign trade as Iran and its main trading allies lie in the same cluster. We can also claim that financial policymakers should moderate and manage the effects of international financial volatilities on domestic market by implementing policies which can help make domestic market more diversified.