European stocks fell to the lowest level in nearly four years today, Thursday, after travel restrictions imposed by US President Donald Trump in an attempt to stem the spread of the Corona virus shook investors.
On Wednesday, Trump suspended travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days in response to mounting pressure to take action to cope with the outbreak, which the World Health Organization now classifies as a pandemic.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 4.9 percent, with the travel and entertainment sector sub-index dropping 8.6 percent to its lowest level in more than six years.
HW Smith and Dufry joined the growing list of companies affected by the outbreak, as HW Smith expected its annual profit to drop 40 million pounds ($ 51.25 million), while Dufray, an airport retail sales company, said it would cut jobs after registering a downturn. 7.3 percent in self-sales.
Shares of the two companies fell 17 percent and 16.8 percent, respectively.
The share of Senworld, another large company that is the victim of the outbreak and occupies cinemas, witnessed a new decline by 20 percent after it said that the worst scenario for the outbreak may add doubts to its ability to continue.