Financial markets reeled on Thursday as stocks dived and oil slumped after US President Donald Trump took the dramatic step of banning travel from Europe to stem the spread of coronavirus, threatening more disruptions to trade and the world economy.

"The travel ban from Europe has definitely taken everyone by surprise," said head of Asia Research at ANZ in Singapore Khoon Goh.

"Already we know the economic impact is significant, and with this additional measure on top it's just going to multiply the impact across businesses. This is something that markets had not factored in [...] it's a huge near-term economic cost."

Those fears left a trail of red across many markets.

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