U.S. Stocks Fall as Obama Comments Raise Concerns Over Crimea

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U.S. stocks fell, erasing gains that sent the Standard & Poor™s 500 Index to within three points of a record, on concern the situation in Ukraine may escalate after President Barack Obama said the international order is being tested.

The S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent to 1,852.6 at 4 p.m. in New York, with declines accelerating in the final hour of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 98.89 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,268.99. The Russell 2000 Index sank 1.9 percent for its biggest drop in almost two months.

The Nasdaq Internet index retreated 2.5 percent for a sixth day of losses and is down 11 percent since a high on March 6. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology exchange-traded fund lost 1.8 percent, sliding to the lowest since Jan. 9.