By Anora Mahmudova and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks ended sharply lower
Thursday as selling took hold after a Malaysia Airlines jet crashed
near the Ukraine-Russia border.
Investors turned to assets perceived as havens, such as U.S.
Treasurys and gold, pushing their prices sharply higher. Read also:
Malaysia Airlines crash triggers risk-off reaction.
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed down 23.45 points, or 1.2%, to
1,958.12, its biggest one-day drop since April 10.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped 161.39 points, or
0.9%, to 16,976.81, its biggest one-day point decline since May 15.
Airline stocks took a big hit after the jet crash news.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) ended the day down 62.52 points, or
1.4%, at 4,363.45.
Geopolitical risks intensified after news that a Ukrainian
fighter jet was shot down by missiles from a Russian plane. Then
came reports that a Malaysia Airlines plane had crashed in
Ukraine.
Those developments came after the U.S. unveiled a new round of
sanctions against Russia, and the European Union said it would
detail new sanctions against Russia by the end of this month.
European stocks fell sharply on Thursday. Read: Russian stocks
pounded after U.S. imposes new sanctions.
"Today's selloff makes sense given that there's been a concern
among investors in the last few months that the U.S. could become
more closely intertwined in the conflict between Ukraine and
Russia," said Kristina Hooper, U.S. investment strategist at
Allianz Global Investors. She said there are "so many question
marks right now" about the news from Ukraine, and it likely will
take a few days for investors to process the implications.
"Those investors who have a longer-term time horizon shouldn't
be selling," Hooper added.
Earlier, the market digested a mixed bag of earnings reports and
economic data. Reports on weekly jobless claims and manufacturing
activity in the Philadelphia area came in better than expected. But
construction on new U.S. homes was far weaker than expected,
tumbling to the slowest pace in nine months.
Microsoft plans major layoffs, SanDisk results disappoint
In corporate news, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) shares rallied 1%
after the tech company said it would cut 18,000 jobs over the next
year in a bid to simplify operations and integrate its Nokia
Devices and Services business. It also said it would take a
restructuring charge between $1.1 billion and $1.6 billion over the
next year.
Mattel (MAT) shares fell 6.6% as quarterly earnings were dragged
lower by muted sales of Barbie dolls.
SanDisk (SNDK) shares sank 14% after the flash-memory maker's
third-quarter revenue forecast was lighter than anticipated. Read
more about the day's notable movers here.
After trading closes Thursday, Google (GOOG) is expected to post
earnings of $6.25 a share on revenue of $12.3 billion. Shares were
down 1.7%. Read Need To Know: Janet Yellen might disagree, but
Amazon tapped as screaming buy.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
Sites erased in Google right-to-be-forgotten case can be found
here
10 steps to take if you hope to retire soon
BlackRock results show a shift away from stocks? Not exactly
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires