(MENAFN- AFP) US stocks Monday opened sharply lower as investors retreated from stocks and other riskier investments due to rising tensions surrounding Ukraine. Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 129.12 points (0.79 percent) to 16,192.59.The broad-based S&P 500 declined 13.16 (0.71 percent) to 1,846.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 43.34 (1.01 percent) at 4,264.78.British Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Russia of "consequences and costs" as he met Ukraine's Western-backed leaders in Kiev in the wake of Russia's de facto occupation of Crimea. The decline in US equities followed sharp drops in European stock markets."Risk aversion is rife in the markets on Monday, as the Ukraine crisis escalated, further prompting investors to rebalance their portfolios away from stocks and towards commodities and other safe-haven assets," said Alpari analyst Craig Erlam.
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