Air New Zealand fell 8.3 per cent to $1.76 and Tourism Holdings, who warned the 30-day travel-ban would have an immediate impact in New Zealand, fell 7.1 to $2.34.
Grant Davies, an investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the announcement had "thrown the cat among the pigeons" because a lot of Tourism Holdings operations were campervans rented by European tourists.
Wall Street had already set a weak lead for the local market when the Dow Jones Industrial Average entered bear market territory when it fell more than 20 per cent from its peak in late February. The World Health Organisation formally declared the outbreak a pandemic, and investors had already been disappointed with the US response before Trump's announcement.
Vista Group International led the market lower, falling 14.2 per cent to $2.41 on six-times its 90-day average trading volume. The company told BusinessDesk it wasn't expecting the bulk of its cinemas in China to reopen until early April.
"The market is always looking at the forward story and the forward was the growth they were getting in China, which is being pared back significantly," Davies said.
"I can't imagine too many people rushing to the cinema in New Zealand or anywhere else in the world."
Aged-care firms also came under pressure as investors became wary of the retirement village operators because their residents were more vulnerable to the virus outbreak.
Oceania Healthcare decreased 9.9 per cent to a three-year low of 91 cents with more than 5 million shares changing hands. Arvida Group fell 9.4 per cent to $1.45 and Ryman Healthcare declined 8.8 per cent to $12.95.
Freightways declined 8 per cent to $6.77 and Mainfreight dropped 7.2 per cent to $33. Logistics companies are often seen as a proxy for future economic activity.
A2 Milk fell 6.7 per cent to $15.02 with almost 2 million shares traded. The milk marketer announced today it was expanding into Canada through an exclusive licensing agreement with Agrifoods Cooperative.
"They've been successful in most of the markets they have entered and the way they have done it in the States is, I'm sure, something they'll be able to replicate in Canada," Davies said.
A2 has outperformed the wider market, up 7 per cent year-to-date compared to a 5.4 per cent decline on the NZX50.
Synlait Milk fell 4.1 per cent to $4.89 and Fonterra Shareholders' Fund units held at $3.75.
Davies said milk prices had fallen with other commodities, which may lead to a lower farm gate price and lower production costs for Fonterra.
"That could be one reason why they are holding up pretty well throughout the whole crisis really," he said.
New Zealand Refining Company was the only stock to gain, up 2.8 per cent at $1.09.
Davies said the local market was holding relatively strong amidst the global crisis.
"The New Zealand market is down around 15 per cent from its peak on February 21, while the Aussie market is off about 25 per cent," he said.
"The US, with another bad night coming up tonight, is off 19.5 per cent. So New Zealand's market, in spite of itself today, is holding up reasonably well."
