After coronavirus fears drove the steepest single-day point drop in Dow Jones Industrial Average history overnight Thursday, Tokyo stocks tumbled Friday in a continued global rout, with panic selling briefly pushing the Nikkei index down more than 1,000 points.

The 225-issue Nikkei average closed down 805.27 points, or 3.67 percent, from Thursday at 21,142.96, its lowest finish since Sept. 5, after giving up 1,000 points to sink below 21,000 for the first time in some 5½ months.

The broader Topix index of all first section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 57.19 points, or 3.65 percent, lower at 1,510.87.

The sell-off came in response to drops in U.S. and European stocks the previous day, brokers said, with the Dow Jones industrial average having fallen 1,190.95 points.

Investor sentiment deteriorated globally after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first apparent community transmission case of the virus in the country, as Denmark, Estonia and other nations reported their first cases.

“With the coronavirus spreading throughout the world, fears over the global economy’s outlook are mounting among market participants,” said Maki Sawada, vice president of Nomura Securities Co.’s Investment Research & Investor Services Department.

Concerns have ballooned among investors worldwide that the global economy will be forced into stagnation by the raging coronavirus, brokers said.

On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said his state was monitoring 8,400 people for the virus after the warning from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With selling unabated in the afternoon, also due to falls in Chinese stocks, the Nikkei average widened its loss to over 1,000 points to slip through the 21,000 threshold for the first time since Sept. 5.

“Foreign investors kept throwing stocks away throughout the day,” said Chihiro Ota, general manager for investment research and investor services at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.

He pointed out that Tokyo stocks were also shunned due to the escalating situation caused by the China-born virus in South Korea.

The government in Seoul announced Friday that the number of virus carriers had sprung up by 256 to 2,022.

The yen’s strengthening against the dollar also fueled stock selling, brokers said.

RELATED PHOTOS A screen showing an over 700-point plunge in the Nikkei stock average, seen to the left, is seen in Tokyo on Friday morning. The index continued its fall later in the day and at about 1.30 p.m. was down more than 900 points. The Dow Jones industrial average, seen to the right, posted a record daily drop Thursday amid fears over the spread of COVID-19. | KYODO