U.S. President Donald Trump announced that travel would be suspended between the United States and more than two dozen European countries. According to him, this measure is employed to insulate the U.S. from the coronavirus outbreak.
The investors were waiting for days to see what the U.S. authorities would do to help the economy and stop the virus’s spreading. However, they seem disappointed by Trump’s statement.
It seems investors were waiting for more drastic measures, among them, were medical decisions too. However, Trump was content just to say that the virus wouldn’t defeat America after he spoke about the suspension.
As the president stated, the ban will start Friday at midnight and last 30 days. It includes not the whole of Europe, but countries in the Schengen zone, among them Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and 22 other nations. But Trump failed to mention that fact during the original statement, and it caused some confusion until the air was cleared. Furthermore, the United Kingdom is not included so far.
Investors worry that the prohibitions would apply to trade and cargo too, but it’s not the case. While the president said that various other things would need approval, he also highlighted later that trade would in no way be affected by the travel restriction, as the restriction stops people, not goods.
Meanwhile, the U.S. stocks collapsed on Wednesday evening as the investors were not satisfied with the authorities’ measures to fight the virus. The Dow Jones futures fell more than 1,100 points and were last down by 3.94%. S&P 500 futures dropped down by 3.67%, while the Nasdaq tumbled by 3.92%.
What about the Asian stocks?
Asian markets traded sharply lower as well on Thursday morning after Trump’s announcement. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lowered by 3.8%. It is rapidly approaching the bear market territory. However, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 is already there. It entered a bear market on Wednesday when the stock fell by 6.15%.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 plummeted down by 4.5%. The benchmark index may also enter into a bear market soon. South Korea’s Kospi Index fell by 5%, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.3%.
