U.S. stocks fell off a cliff Monday in the wake of rising interest rates, with the Dow index plunging more than 1,150 points to suffer its biggest-ever single-day loss.

The 30-issue Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,175.21 points, or 4.60 percent, to end at 24,345.75 after briefly dropping nearly 1,600 points. It fell for the third straight day, erasing its gains for the year.

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It marked the biggest-ever single-day loss for the Dow, far surpassing the 777-point sell-off on Sept. 29, 2008 at the start of the global financial crisis touched off by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The latest plunge came as President Donald Trump has touted higher stock prices as one of his year-old administration's major achievements.

The U.S. economy held steady throughout last year. The stock market also received a lift from expectations for Trump's economic measures, such as massive tax cuts and deregulation.

However, an increase in wages was confirmed in the U.S. jobs data for January, which was released Friday. It was interpreted as a sign of inflation, thus sending long-term interest rates soaring amid speculation that the Federal Reserve could quicken its pace of credit tightening.

On Monday, investors rushed for the exits as the benchmark 10-year yield rose to a roughly four-year high of 2.885 percent at one point overnight. Oil issues were sold following a deceleration in crude oil prices.

The broader S&P 500 closed down 113.19 points, or 4.10 percent, at 2,648.94, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 273.42 points, or 3.78 percent, to close at an about one-month low of 6,967.53.