"U.S. stocks tumbled on Thursday after a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet crash near the Russia-Ukraine border rekindled worries about fighting in the region.
Stocks slid to session lows and safe-haven assets such as gold and Treasury-bond prices rose. Investors often buy gold and low-risk bonds to hedge riskier investments during times of political or economic instability.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 124 points, or 0.7%, to 17013, near the day's lows in late-afternoon trading. Losses put the blue-chip benchmark on pace to snap a four-session streak of gains.
The S&P 500 shed 15 points, or 0.8%, to 1966 and the Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 44 points, or 1%, to 4382. Declines were broad, as all 10 of the S&P 500's sectors lost ground, led lower by industrial and energy stocks.
The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes fell to 2.472%, near the day's lows, down from 2.549% late Wednesday. Bond prices move in the opposite direction as yields. Gold futures rose 1.3% to settle at $1,316.70 a troy ounce. Crude-oil futures added 1.9% to $103.13 a barrel.
Thursday's declines provided a jolt to investors who in recent weeks had grown accustomed to steady gains in mostly placid trading. The Dow notched its 15th record high of the year on Wednesday, capping a steady stretch of gains that coincided with signs of an improving U.S. economy and pledges from the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low for an extended period."
