Coronavirus: Stocks plummet amid US-Europe travel ban

Shares have dived after US president Donald Trump restricted travel to the US from Mainland Europe in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

London’s FTSE 100 index sank more than 4% in the first half-hour of trade.

Earlier, stocks in Asia saw big falls, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index closing 4.4% lower.

It followed steep losses in US shares on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones plunging by almost 1,500 points, or 5.8%.

In the UK, some of the biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 included travel companies such as the airline group IAG, which sank by 9%, and TUI, which also saw a drop of more than 10%.