Dow kicks off Q2 by closing down nearly 1,000 points on Wednesday

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday kicked off the the second quarter with a steep decline of nearly 1,000 points.

The decline came on the heels of Tuesday's more than 400-point drop that concluded the Dow's worst first quarter in history. The index fell more than 23 percent during the first quarter.

The Dow on Wednesday fell 973.65 points.The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wednesday each posted 4.4 percent losses.

Many businesses have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic as voluntary and government-ordered restrictions and closures cripple the nation's economy and leave more than 3 million workers unemployed.

President Trump on Sunday announced the extension of his administration's social distancing guidelines until the end of April.

"The modeling estimates that the peak in death rate is likely to hit in two weeks," the president said at the Sunday evening press conference. "Nothing would be worse than declaring victory before the victory is won, that would be the greatest loss of all," he said.

Trump said at the Tuesday coronavirus briefing that the nation will endure a "very, very painful two weeks."