U.S. markets dive, trading suspended after Trump’s coronavirus travel ban fails to calm investors

Wall Street suspended trading for second time this week after the Standard & Poor’s 500 plunged 7 percent just minutes into Thursday’s session.

The New York Stock Exchange triggered the forced 15-minute trading halt known as a circuit breaker to stop the free-fall and give traders time to recalibrate. The rarely used lever comes as the coronavirus’s accelerating spread and worsening economic outlook have rattled global markets for weeks.

The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted nearly 1,700 points at the open following President Trump’s announcement that he would restrict all travel from Europe for 30 days to stem the spread of the pandemic. After the circuit-breaker pause, the blue-chip index briefly fell more than 1,900 points before rebounding slightly. By midmorning, it was down more than 1,800 points, or 7.6 percent. The S&P 500 also saw a small bump after the break, and was down 6.7 percent at midmorning. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 6.5 percent.

“The travel ban to Europe ex-UK was met with consternation, given that it is likely to put even more pressure on the travel industry and further reduce demand for oil,” Kristina Hooper, global market strategist at Invesco, said in an email to The Post. “In addition, we seem to be a long way from actual passage of a fiscal stimulus package at a time when the stock market is eager to see legislation passed that directly addresses the economic problems created by the spread of the coronavirus and efforts to contain it.”

Thursday’s dive comes on a frenetic week of trading that tipped the Dow into a bear market, reflecting a 20-percent fall from the all-time high it set in mid-February.

The S&P 500 triggered the first circuit breaker of the week on Monday after falling 7 percent early into the session. By the end of day, it had shed 7.6 percent and the Dow had lost a stunning 2,014 points, or 7.8 percent. The markets recovered somewhat Tuesday, posting across-the-board gains, only to recoil Wednesday after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The Dow cratered nearly 1,500 points to fall into a bear market, which marks a 20-percent drop its all-time high.