US bans all travel with Europe, ASX 200 plunges

The US just banned all travel with Europe, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down heavily in response to the ban.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down over 5% after US President Donald Trump announced that the US would be cancelling all travel with Europe for the next 30 days.

What did US President Donald Trump announce?

Speaking in the Oval Office, President Trump said: "To keep new cases from entering our shores we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the US for the next 30 days." However, travel with the UK will still be allowed.

He also said that Americans should avoid non-essential travel to crowded areas. He then went on to say that: "If you are sick or not feeling well, stay home."

The President said that the US would provide financial relief for workers who cannot work due to illness.

He intends for the Small Business Administration to provide economic loans in affected states and territories for small businesses. He has asked congress to increase funding for this programme by US$50 billion.

Straight after the news of this broke, we learned from social media that Tom Hanks tested positive for COVID-19.

What's happening on the ASX?

As you can imagine, shares are getting pummelled again.

Various sectors are down again. Travel has been hit hard: the share prices of Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) and Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) are down 16% and 13.3% respectively.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is down another 2.8%. The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is down by 4.1%. The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price is down 5.75%.

It seems it's going to be a very painful day for the ASX.

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Webjet Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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