U.S. stocks suffered big losses Friday, as Wall Street assessed a mixed set of jobs data amid oil weakness.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 211.75 points, or 1.29 percent, to 16,204.83. The S&P 500 shed 35.43 points, or 1.85 percent, to 1,880.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 146.42 points, or 3.25 percent, to 4,363.14.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in January, well below market expectation of 188,000. The unemployment rate, however, edged down to 4.9 percent in January, dipping below 5 percent for the first time since 2008. In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 12 cents to 25.39 U.S. dollars, beating market estimates.
Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent. Analysts said the mixed jobs report adds little clarity to the health of the U.S. economy. "Fed officials have been anticipating slower payroll growth for months, so this slowdown is more likely to draw a sigh of relief from FOMC members than concern about potential collapse into weakness," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note. Meanwhile, the U.S. goods and services deficit came in at 43.4 billion dollars in December, up 1.1 billion dollars from November and on par with market expectations, the Commerce Department announced Friday.
Dampening investor sentiment, oil prices extended losses on Friday, as a global supply glut continued to weigh on the market amid uncertainties about the global growth. The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery moved down 83 cents to settle at 30.89 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery decreased 40 cents to close at 34.06 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Overseas, Chinese shares wobbled on Friday before the country's lunar New Year holiday, concluding the Year of the Sheep on a downbeat note. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.63 percent to end at 2,763.49 points.
European equities also declined broadly Friday. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange dipped 1.14 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index lost 0.86 percent. For the week, the Dow fell 1.6 percent, and the S&P 500 sank 3. 1 percent, while the Nasdaq dived 5.4 percent. The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 7.05 percent to end at 23.38 Friday.
In other markets, the U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies on Friday as investors were digesting the mixed nonfarm payroll report from the country. In late New York trading, the euro declined to 1.1142 dollars from 1.1207 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 116.93 Japanese yen, higher than 116.75 yen of the previous session.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose Friday as U.S. employment data gave support to the precious metal. The most active gold contract for April delivery edged up 0.2 dollar, or 0.02 percent, to settle at 1,157.70 dollars per ounce.
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