U.S. stocks slide as rhetoric over Ukraine intensifies; Dow average has its fourth loss in a row

3/13/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Wall-Street-597

    Trader Mario Innella, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, March 13, 2014. Stocks opened higher as traders were encouraged by a pickup in retail sales and more signs of health in the U.S. job market. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    • NEW YORK -- Stocks fell sharply today as tensions flare up over Russia’s presence in Ukraine.

    The Dow Jones industrial average fell 231 points, or 1.4 percent, to close at 16,108 today, its worst loss in six weeks.

    The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 21 points, or 1.2 percent, to 1,846. The Nasdaq composite fell 62 points, or 1.5 percent, to 4,260.

    U.S. and European leaders have been stepping up their rhetoric against Moscow ahead of a weekend vote in Crimea over whether to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

    Secretary of State John Kerry warned Russia that it will face “very serious” steps from the United States and Europe if it annexes Crimea.

    Bond prices rose as traders sought safety. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.65 percent.