Friday, 18 July 2014 06:29---------------------------------------------------
US stocks tumble on Malaysia Airlines crash
NEW YORK - US stocks tumbled on Thursday after a Malaysian airliner crashed in rebel-held eastern 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) ... retreating from Wednesday's record close.
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"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."
There were no signs of survivors from the crash of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, which was carrying 298 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said he could not rule out that the plane was shot down. Poroshenko's official spokesman said he believed pro-Russia insurgents downed the jet.
"This incident is not a catastrophe. It is a terrorist act," Poroshenko's spokesman posted on Twitter. [Yeah, they would be on Twitter pointing the finger.]
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.
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The plane crash in rebel-held eastern Ukraine comes at a sensitive moment in a regional crisis that has stoked tensions between Russia and the West.
On Wednesday, the US and the European Union strengthened sanctions on Moscow, with President Barack Obama criticizing Russia for its "continued provocations in Ukraine."
Russia angrily denounced the sanctions.
The plane crash is "really bad news, much more serious than the sanctions announced yesterday by Washington," said Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets.
"Air travel is very important for the economy," he added. "This is very destabilizing 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.
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SOURCE - Malaysia Chronical - here.
COMMENT
So whenever there's conflict or likelihood of it, gold goes up.
Whenever there's a flight downed & airlines cutting flights, gold goes up?
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