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Dow Tanks 7.4% on Travel Ban Shock, Trading Halted

Trump coronavirus address fails to calm markets, emergency brakes triggered.

Financial markets around the world plummeted Thursday as traders digested Donald Trump’s proclamation late Wednesday of travel restrictions from Europe. In New York, trading was halted in its opening minutes after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 7.4 percent and triggered an emergency shutdown—the second such trigger in U.S. markets this week. London’s FTSE-100 was down 5.8 percent shortly after opening, while U.S. futures markets suggested the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq would open between 4 percent and 5 percent lower. Japan’s Nikkei index was down 4.5 percent. The losses come on top of steep falls already recorded in the past few days: The Dow peaked at 29551 exactly one month ago; today, it is expected to open at around 22300, per the futures market.