Gaza violence, Malaysian jet crash in Ukraine hit stocks

Wall Street had its worst day since April after a Malaysian airlines jet was downed over eastern Ukraine near Russian border

Global stock markets slumped on Thursday, while safe-haven gold and bond prices rose following an escalation of violence in Gaza and the downing of a passenger plane at the Ukraine-Russia border.

Wall Street had its worst day since April after a Malaysian airlines jet was downed over eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, sparking a fall in risk assets on concerns that the conflict might widen.

The Russian rouble had its worst day in more than a year, and European stock markets slumped just before the close of trading after news of the downed plane.

About 300 people died in the crash, caused by a missile fired at the plane, according to a Ukrainian official. The incident was the latest in a series of tensions between Ukraine and Russia that has resulted in clashes along the border, including the targeting of military aircraft.

Even wider equity losses came in the last hour of trading after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the military to begin a ground offensive in Gaza.

"We're absolutely trading on eggshells," said Michael Mullaney, chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust Co in Boston.

"Russia is just one of the hot spots, one of the bubbling caldrons of activity that could flare up at any time. The Middle East is another; the situation in Gaza is very tenuous at this point in time."

The S&P 500 posted its biggest one-day%age decline since April 10, while the CBOE Volatility index spiked 32% in its biggest one-day jump since April 2013. Despite the move, the VIX, at 14.54, remains low by historical standards.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 161.39 points, or 0.94%, to 16,976.81, the S&P 500 lost 23.45 points, or 1.18%, to 1,958.12 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 62.52 points, or 1.41%, to 4,363.45.

All 10 primary S&P 500 sectors ended the day with solid losses, but airlines were especially hard hit, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index down 2.6%.

The aircraft incident sparked a shift to safe-haven assets like U.S. government bonds. The benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note rose 22/32 in price, dropping the yield to 2.4584%, not far from the 2014 low of 2.438%. Still, some said the market impact of the crash would be short-lived.

"For a sustained sub-2.50% on the 10-year yield, we need another catalyst to support the idea the economy is not as strong as some people think," said Anthony Valeri, fixed income strategist at LPL Financial in San Diego.

Gold prices jumped 1.5% in their biggest one-day advance in about a month. Silver prices rose 2.2%.

The Russian rouble fell 1.8% against the U.S. dollar, its biggest one-day decline since June 2013. Major European stock indexes fell just before the close of trading. Moscow's MICEX stock market fell 2.3% and its dollar-traded related index, the RTS index, dropped 3.8%.

In the currency market, the Japanese yen rose 0.5% against the dollar, while the Swiss franc was little changed and the U.S. dollar was almost flat against a basket of currencies.

European shares ended near their lows of the day. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 lost 1.0% and the MSCI International ACWI Price Index lost 0.9%.

U.S. crude oil futures rose $1.90, or 2%, to $103.10 per barrel. Brent gained 0.6% to $107.80. [O/R]

Prior to the report of the downed plane, Wall Street stocks edged lower on a weak reading on U.S. housing starts, which fell well short of expectations in June.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley reported results that topped expectations, but the stock pared its early advance to close down 0.6%.