Southeast Asian stock markets were ravaged on Thursday after the United States suspended travel from Europe as coronavirus cases across the world spiralled, sparking worries that rising restrictions would hammer economic activity.
Thailand's near 11% drop and Indonesia's 5% decline triggered circuit breakers, leading to trading being halted for a period of time. Indonesia, along with Vietnam , also dived into bear territory - a period signalling drawn-out negative investor sentiment.
Philippines tumbled about 10%, while Singapore lost nearly 4%.
Markets were rattled and tourism stocks lost ground after US President Donald Trump suspended all travel from Europe to the United States, barring the United Kingdom.
The absence of large-scale tax breaks or medical tests for Americans in Trump's announcement also disappointed investors, who had expected concrete measures to cushion the economic impact of the outbreak.
"President Trump's speech was notable for what it didn't contain, rather than what it did", said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Worries about the economic fallout from the virus also deepened after the World Health Organization described the virus as a pandemic.
"Even though we do have substantial support coming through from governments and central banks alike, the dispersion of the virus so far continues to mark the risks of dragging the global economy into recession", said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG.
Stocks in tourism-dependent Thailand crashed nearly 11%, the most since December 2006, on a day when the country reported its biggest daily rise in virus infections since the outbreak began.
The Philippine benchmark saw its worst session since the 2008 financial crisis, slumping as much as 9.7%.
Singapore stocks fell 3.8% to their lowest in more than four years, as economists predicted that the city-state's economy would shrink sharply in the first quarter.
Indonesian stocks fell 5% before a circuit breaker halted trading for 30 minutes, effectively ending trade just before the bell.
The index has shed more than 22% from a record peak touched on Jan. 15, even as the government announced tax relief measures for manufacturing.
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