U.S. stocks plunged on Monday with the Dow closing down more than 2,000 points.

Oil prices also dropped as the failure to strike a deal concerning output cuts among the world's major oil producers triggered fears of a price war.

-- 4:30 p.m.

The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery fell 10.15 U.S. dollars, or about 24.6 percent, to settle at 31.13 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery fell 10.91 dollars, or 24.1 percent, to close at 34.36 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Both oil benchmarks posted their worst day since 1991.

-- 4: 10 p.m.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average cratered 2,013.76 points, or 7.79 percent, to 23,851.02. The S&P 500 was down 225.81 points, or 7.60 percent, to 2,746.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 624.94 points, or 7.29 percent, to 7,950.68.

-- 10:37 a.m.

Earlier in the day, world financial markets plunged amid diving oil prices and the spreading novel coronavirus.

U.S. President Donald Trump blamed fall of oil price and fake news for stocks plunge and halt of trading on the Wall Street.

"Saudi Arabia and Russia are arguing over the price and flow of oil. That, and the Fake News, is the reason for the market drop!" Trump tweeted.

"Good for the consumer, gasoline prices coming down!" Trump added.

-- 9:35-9:50 a.m.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks plunged in early trading on Monday with all three major indexes declining more than 7 percent amid anxieties for a possible all-out oil price war and economic slowdown from the spreading coronavirus.

The trading was halted for 15 minutes after the S&P 500 declined by 7 percent, and resumed trading at 9:49 a.m. local time (1349 GMT).

-- 7:30 a.m.

Britain's stock market is suffering one of its worst days in decades, amid fears of a global recession and an oil price war.

-FTSE 100 index plunged by 8.5% at the start of trading

-Every stock on the index is down, led by BP (-20%)

European shares are also suffering their worst day in years.

-The Stoxx-600 index is down over 6.5%, with deep losses in Germany (-7.1%) and France (-7.3%)

-Italy's market has slumped by 10% after Rome's government announced plans to quarantine millions of people in the north of the country

4:00 a.m.

MOSCOW -- The Bank of Russia announced it is to suspend foreign currency purchases on the domestic market for 30 days over the weakening ruble, after a collapse in oil prices.

The move aims to increase the predictability of the monetary authorities and curb the volatility of the financial markets, the central bank said.

The bank added that it is monitoring the financial markets and is ready to take additional measures to maintain financial stability in Russia.

Earlier in the day, Russia's ruble depreciated against the U.S. dollar to over 73 rubles per dollar on the international market, the weakest since March 2016. The ruble against the euro retreated to nearly 84 rubles per euro, the lowest since February 2016.

Russia's financial markets remain closed on Monday for the International Women's Day holiday, but analysts have already expressed fear that Tuesday could be a "blood bath" for the Russian stock market. Failed talks between Russia and Saudi Arabia, major oil producers, had previously sent oil prices into a nosedive. Russia heavily relies on oil and gas revenues.

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