NEW YORK, March 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. equities plunged on Monday with the Dow closing down about 3,000 points, as panic selling continued amid coronavirus fallout.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average cratered 2,997.10 points, or 12.93 percent, to 20,188.52. The S&P 500 fell 324.89 points, or 11.98 percent, to 2,386.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 970.28 points, or 12.32 percent, to 6,904.59.

All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended significantly lower, with the real estate down 16.55 percent, representing the worst-performing group.

The major averages fell to their lows in late session after President Donald Trump said the U.S. economy "may be" headed for recession and that the COVID-19 outbreak could last for months.

Trading was halted for 15 minutes on Wall Street shortly after the opening bell as a dip of 8.14 percent on the benchmark S&P 500 triggered a circuit breaker. It was the third time that the circuit breaker, or trading halt, has been tipped since last week.