US stocks nosedive as Malaysia jet crashes

US stocks tumbled on Thursday after a Malaysian airliner crashed in Ukraine, with Kiev saying it was shot down, heightening tensions in the months-old conflict and shaking markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 161.39 points (0.94 per cent) to 16,976.81 points, retreating from Wednesday’s record close. The broad-based S&P 500 plummeted 23.45 (1.18 per cent) to 1,958.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 62.52 (1.41 per cent) at 4,363.45. ‘Obviously it's all about the tragedy in Ukraine,’ said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital. ‘This raises the level of the fear factor regarding geopolitical concerns.’ The disaster sparked a stampede of money away from stocks and towards safer assets, such as gold (+1.4 per cent) and US Treasuries, with bond prices rising. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.47 per cent from 2.54 per cent on Wednesday, while the 30-year dropped to 3.29 per cent from 3.35 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely. Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets, said ‘Air travel is very important for the economy. The air crashes are very destabilising for travelers and investors. Delta Air Lines dropped 3.4 per cent as it said it would no longer send flights through Ukrainian airspace. American Airlines (-4.1 per cent) and United Continental (-3.5 per cent) also fell. Dow component Boeing dropped 1.2 per cent. The plane crash overshadowed a busy day of corporate earnings. Investment bank Morgan Stanley dipped 0.6 per cent despite beating expectations by a wide margin, while toymaker Mattel slumped 6.6 per cent as profits sank percent due in part to a big drop in sales of the iconic Barbie doll, according to AFP.