Gulf stocks plunged on Thursday, joining a sell-off in global equities after the United States suspended travel from Europe and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus outbreak is now a pandemic.

U.S. President Donald Trump banned all travel from Europe, except from the United Kingdom, to the United States for 30 days starting on Friday to contain the spread of the outbreak.

Trump's decision came after the WHO described the new coronavirus as a pandemic for the first time. The novel flu-like virus has now infected more than 118,000 people globally and left over 4,200 dead.

"All markets in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) are at risk after the WHO declared the coronavirus a pandemic, which triggered a sell-off across the board in the U.S. market," said Marie Salem, head of institutions at Daman Securities.

"More losses are expected following President Trump's announcement to suspend travel from Europe for 30 days."

In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark stock index declined 5%, dragged by a 5.5% slump in Al Rajhi Bank.

Saudi Aramco fell 4.4% to 28.4 riyals after Wednesday's 4.7% drop as oil prices slumped, also hurt by the threat of a flood of cheap supply as Saudi Arabia promised to raise output to a record high in its standoff with Russia.

Brent crude was trading down 5.3% at $33.88 by 0339 GMT.

Saudi Arabia, which has 45 virus cases, extended flight and travel bans to include the European Union and 12 other countries.

In Dubai, the index dropped 7.6%, with Dubai Islamic Bank shedding 8.6%, while Emirates NBD sank 10%.

Air Arabia, UAE's only listed airline, dived 9% after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait tightened travel restrictions.

The Abu Dhabi index was down 6.5%, with market heavyweight First Abu Dhabi Bank shedding 8.4%.

In Qatar, the index fell 6.2% after two straight sessions of gains, with all of its constituents trading in the red. The Gulf's largest lender, Qatar National Bank, was down 7.5%.

Trading was suspended in Kuwait after the country declared a Thursday a public holiday to contain the virus' spread.

(Reporting by Maqsood Alam in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) ((Maqsood.Alam@thomsonreuters.com;))