Stock markets in Europe fell even further on Wednesday, after US president Donald Trump announced a ban on most travel from Europe in a bid to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.
The global market selloff continued today, as news of the travel ban spread among investors, triggering panic selling. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a pandemic.
Germany’s DAX fell more than 7.2%, while London’s FTSE 100 fell 6%. France’s CAC 40 shed 7.5%. Italy’s benchmark stock index, which has dropped 18% this week, fell another 6%.
Trump’s measure takes effect at midnight and applies to countries in the Schengen Area. The United Kingdom is not included in the ban.
In the US, the S&P 500 fell 7%, plunging the index into bear market territory. The Dow fell almost 8 %, while the Nasdaq was down 6.9%. Apple (AAPL) dropped 8.3%, and Microsoft (MSFT) was down 7.4%.
The European Central Bank voted to hold its target interest rate unchanged, and said it would offer loans to banks at interest rates as low as 0.75%.
After the announcement of the travel ban, shares in airlines opened significantly lower. IAG plunged 9%, with Ryanair down 7% in the first minutes of trading.
Markets plummet after Trump’s travel ban
EPA/ARNE DEDERT
The DAX index curve shows considerable losses in the trading room of the stock exchange in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, 09 November 2011. Trepidation over rapid debt reduction in Italy as well as concerns over new references to the Iranian nuclear weapon program have pushed the DAX stock index markedly into the minus, dropping almost three percent. The political uncertainty gripping cash-strapped Italy and Greece triggered renewed investor anxiety on 09 November, with Italian borrowing costs soaring as shares, along with the euro, fell sharply. While shares in Paris fell by 2.42 per cent, stocks in Frankfurt dropped 1.93 per cent. Stocks in London, which is Europe's leading share market, fell 1.11 per cent.
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