NEW YORK, Feb 18 — US stocks slid on Thursday, with the S&P 500 marking its biggest daily percentage drop in two weeks, as investors shifted to defensive sectors and safe havens such as bonds and gold as geopolitical tensions between Washington and Russia over Ukraine flared.
On Wall Street, the growth-oriented technology and communication services sectors were among the hardest hit. Financials also declined as US Treasury yields moved lower. “The continued weakness, especially in the growth names, is indicative of elevated nervousness and sellers continuing to swamp buyers in just about every stock.”
The drop for the Dow was the biggest daily percentage decline since Nov. 30 while the Nasdaq’s decline was its largest percentage fall since Feb. 3. As risk aversion pushed bond yields lower, big banks including JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America all lost ground. Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo fell even after positive outlooks from the lenders.