An ugly start to a new month and new quarter on Wall Street. Investors dumped stocks Wednesday morning and flocked instead to safe-haven assets, scooping up Treasuries, the dollar and gold.

The Dow plummeted nearly 700 points at the open. The blue chip index, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell more than 3%.

Triggering the flight from risk: President Donald Trump's warning that the U.S. could face as many as 240,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, saying that Americans face a rough two weeks ahead.

Investors also got more evidence of how the outbreak has crippled the U.S. economy. In March, private payrolls dropped for the first time in two-and-a-half years, and manufacturing activity cratered.

Just one day earlier, the Dow and S&P 500 capped their worst opening quarters in their history.

The rush to safety pushed down Treasury yields. That pressured interest-sensitive bank stocks. Shares of Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs fell more than 4% in early trading.

Airline and cruise line stocks were also hit hard. Delta Air Lines and Carnival were among the S&P's top decliners, falling more than 10%.

Shares of Marriott dropped. The hotel operator said it suffered another data breach, with information of about 5.2 million guests exposed.