NEW YORK — Financial markets got off to a rough start in October as disappointing economic news and Ebola fears drove stocks lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average slumped more than 200 points Wednesday, the first day of trading in a month known for big market swings. Nervous investors shifted their money to havens like bonds and gold.

At first U.S. stocks were driven lower by word that German manufacturing had slowed last month. The selling accelerated after a separate survey indicated U.S. manufacturing slowed as well.

“A lot of people thought this economic data was going to be robust, so when it was weak, everyone moved to reposition,” said Tom di Galoma, head of rates and credit trading at ED&F Man Capital.

Investors also were skittish following news that the first case of Ebola had been diagnosed in the U.S. They dumped airlines on concerns that travel will decline, and bought a handful of drug companies working on experimental treatments for the deadly disease.

The blue chip Dow index lost 238.19 points, or 1.4 percent, to 16,804.71. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 26.13 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,946.16 and the Nasdaq composite lost 71.30 points, or 1.6 percent, to 4,422.09.

The declines follow a weak performance in September, just the third monthly loss for the stock market this year. Geopolitical worries, a weakening European economy and the prospect of higher interest rates have weighed on stocks, even though corporate earnings and the economic outlook remain healthy in the U.S.