Fears over the impact of COVID-19 continued to dampen global markets. In the US, the S&P 500 plunged 8.4% in February and the Dow suffered its worst month in eleven years as it plummeted 10.1%. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 and KOSPI dropped 8.9% and 6.2%, respectively. VN-Index (VNI) posted its largest decline in 16 months. The VNI moved sideways in the first three weeks of the month before sinking in the last week of February following a sell-off in global markets caused by escalating numbers