Global markets tumble on news of Malaysia airliner MH17 crash  

马航客机坠毁等事件引发全球金融市场剧烈动荡

载有295名乘客的MH17航班17日在乌克兰和俄罗斯边境坠毁，引发国际金融市场的剧烈动荡。当日，华尔街被马航客机坠毁的谜团所笼罩，纽约股市大幅走低，而具有避险功能的黄金价格暴涨。[查看全文]

New York (ECNS) – Wall Street posted its biggest losses in nearly two months on news of the Malaysian plane crash in Ukraine and mounting tensions in Gaza.

Investors have been selling stocks and pouring money into safe-haven investments like gold and US government bonds to avoid risks.

On July 17, Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in east Ukraine near the Russian border. The plane was probably shot down by a missile.

Also on Thursday, Israel launched a ground offensive into Gaza, compounding the tensions in the Middle East and further pressuring the market.

On the same day, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 161.39 points or 0.94 percent, to close at 16,976.81. It was the biggest one-day drop in nearly two months. The S&P 500 slipped 23.45 points or 1.18 percent, to end at 1,958.12. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 4,363.45, down 1.41 percent.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index, dubbed as a gauge of fear, jumped by 32.2 percent to 14.54, the biggest one-day increase in 2014.

Investors flocking to government bonds have pushed up treasury prices. Two-year yields were down to 0.45 percent and 10-year yields down to 2.45 percent.

The gold price recovered from its downward trend, moving up 1.3 percent to $1,316.9 per ounce. The price of silver also inched up by 2 percent to $21.19 per ounce.

US oil futures closed 2 percent higher at $103.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the largest one-day gain in over a month. Prices continued to climb after the close of the regular trading session.

Across the Atlantic, Germany's DAX lost 1.1 percent to 9,754. London's FTSE 100 index fell 0.7 percent to 6,738. Russia's RSX plunged by nearly 6 percent.

Analysts say tensions will continue to cloud the markets as impacts of recent geopolitical events are yet to be seen.