The Associated Press

Stocks skidded on Wall Street and investors sought refuge in government bonds amid worries that a surge in virus infections around the world will threaten the economic recovery.

Market watchers had been warning that stock valuations were getting stretched with indexes hitting record highs as recently as last week.

Treasury yields sank further as investors scrambled to move into assets seen as safer. Airlines, hotels and other companies seen as most at threat from pandemic restrictions had some of the biggest losses.

On Monday:

The S&P 500 fell 68.67 points, or 1.6%, to 4,258.49.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 725.81 points, or 2.1%, to 33,962.04.

The Nasdaq fell 152.25 points, or 1.1%, to 14,274.98.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 32.56 points, or 1.5%, to 2,130.68.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 502.42 points, or 13.4%.

The Dow is up 3,355.56 points, or 11%.

The Nasdaq is up 1,386.70 points, or 10.8%.

The Russell 2000 is up 155.83 points, or 7.9%.