S&P 500 down 2% as Ukraine crisis sparks flight to safety – Reuters

S&P 500 down 2% as Ukraine crisis sparks flight to safety – Reuters

Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks tumbled on Thursday, with investors hastening a move late in the session toward defensive sectors and safe havens such as U.S. bonds and gold as geopolitical tensions between Washington and Russia over Ukraine flared.

U.S. President Joe Biden said there was every indication Russia was planning to invade Ukraine in the next few days and was preparing a pretext to justify it, after Ukrainian forces and pro-Moscow rebels traded fire in eastern Ukraine.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 622.24 points, or 1.78%, to 34,312.03, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 94.75 points, or 2.12%, to 4,380.26 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 407.38 points, or 2.88%, to 13,716.72.