Boeing shares dive on Ethiopian Dreamliner fire

(MoneyWatch) Boeing (BA) shares plunged nearly 5 percent Friday, after a fire broke out on an Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner. The company, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, initially sent the Dow down as well, but stocks rallied and ended up on the day.

Minutes before the fire became known, Boeing's stock price had hit an all-time high of $108.15. Boeing closed the day down down nearly 5 percent at $101 a share; it had been down more than 7 percent earlier.

The fire, on an empty Boeing 787 Dreamliner, temporarily forced Heathrow Airport to close both its runways Friday, suspending all arrivals and departures. The runways have since re-opened.

 "We're aware of the event," A Boeing spokesperson said. "We have Boeing personnel on the ground at Heathrow and are working to fully understand and address this."

• Boeing plane fire closes Heathrow Airport runways
• United Airlines resumes 787 Dreamliner flights
• Boeing Dreamliner battery fire was difficult to control

The airport said in a tweet that there were no passengers aboard the Ethiopian Airlines plane.

An FAA spokesperson told CBS News, "We are aware of the situation, and we are in contact with Boeing as they assess the incident."

The news is bound to be a blow to Boeing, whose Dreamliner was grounded for three months during an investigation about the plane's lithium-ion batteries. The problem was supposedly fixed, and there is no evidence that today's incident in London is related to a battery problem. 

Shares of other companies that provide parts to Boeing for the Dreamliner were also affected by the incident: Precision Castparts (PCP), Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, and (SPR) down nearly 3 percentl; and Hexcel  (HXL), down nearly 1 percent. General Electric (GE), which makes the engines used on the Dreamliner, was down over 1 percent.

The Dow ended up three points, at 15,464. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained five points to 1,680. The Nasdaq composite climbed 21 points to 3,600. This was the second day in a row the Dow and S&P closed at all-time highs.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note gained more than 2 percent to 2.68 percent.