Daily Briefing: Malaysia goes into lock down; Vietnam suspends flights as new variant emerges

And pandemic-beaten India continues to have one of the top stock markets in Asia in May.

From AP:

Malaysia has began its second nationwide lockdown to tackle the ongoing resurgence of COVID-19 cases. Businesses will be closed for two weeks until June 14, except for 17 essential sectors, including banking, media, and food and beverage. Certain manufacturing sectors are also allowed to operate at 60% capacity.

Infections have breached the 6,000 mark on May 19, and hit past 9,000 within ten days.

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From Forbes:

Vietnam suspends international flights to Hanoi from June 1 to 7, amidst not only the surge COVID-19 cases, but a new variant. Flights to Ho Chi Minh are also suspended until June 14, following a recent outbreak in the city.

Vietnam’s health ministry said the new variant combines characteristics of variants found in India and the United Kingdom, and is more transmissable than previous variants.

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From CNBC:

India stocks rose in May despite the country grappling with tens of thousands of new COVID-19 cases every day. The Nifty 50 rose 6.5% while the BSE Sensex rose by 6.47%.

Vietnam was Asia-Pacific’s best performing market, with the VN Index rising by 7.15% in May. Meanwhile the Taiex was the worst performing market for the month, falling by 2.84%.

Read more here.