The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 1,000 points as the spread of the new coronavirus threatened wider damage to the global economy. The drop was the worst for the index in two years and wiped out its gains so far in 2020. Nervous investors scrambled for safety, loading up on gold, U.S. government bonds and other safe-harbor assets. The price of oil fell sharply on expectations that demand for energy would tumble. The Dow lost 1,031 points, or 3.6%, to 27,960. The S&P 500 fell 111, or 3.4%, to 3,225. The Nasdaq fell 355, or 3.7%, to 9,221.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumpedmore than 800points Monday amid a broad global markets sell-off as a surge in virus cases and a worrisome spread of the disease outside China sent investors running for safety.

The selling, which lost some of its momentum toward the end of the day, wiped out all of the Dow’s gains for the yearand had the benchmark S&P 500 on track for its worst day since August.

More than 79,000 people worldwide have been infected by the new coronavirus. China, where the virus originated, still has the majority of cases and deaths. The rapid spread to other countries is raising anxiety about the threat the outbreak poses to the global economy.