The stock market veered lower Thursday afternoon, weighed down by news that a passenger jet was shot down over Ukraine and by disappointing U.S. corporate earnings and housing data.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average slid 135 points, or 0.8 percent, to 17,002 as of 3:35 p.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 21 points, or 1 percent, to 1,960. The Nasdaq composite fell 63 points, or 1.4 percent, to 4,362. Mattel, SanDisk and AutoNation were among the biggest decliners, after they reported earnings. Many investors shifted money into gold and U.S. government bonds, traditional havens favored in time of geopolitical instability.