US close: Stocks drop after jobs data

The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 1.29% or 212 points to 16,205, the Nasdaq fell 3.25% to 4,363 and the S&P 500 retreated by a hefty 1.85% or 35 points to finish at 1,880.

US employers added 151,000 jobs last month, compared with consensus expectations for a 190,000 gain and a downwardly-revised 262,000 for the previous month, the Labor Department’s non-farm payrolls data showed.

On a more constructive note, the unemployment rate fell to 4.9% from 5% in December, nearing an eight-year low. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged at 5%.

Average hourly earnings rose 2.5% year-on-year in January, beating forecasts for a 2.2% increase.

"However confident Janet Yellen and her Fed colleagues were when raising interest rates in December, the US data released in January must be giving them food for thought – and today’s poor non-farm payroll figures are no different," said Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com.

"Adding less than 200 thousand jobs for the first time since October, coupled with lower than expected GDP and productivity figures, has taken some of the shine off of the previously buoyant US economy."

Meanwhile, the US trade deficit expanded in December to a seasonally adjusted $43.36bn from the previous month’s $42.23bn as exports fell 0.3% and imports increased 0.3%. Analysts had expected a deficit of $43.20bn.

In mainland China, the markets were relatively quiet as Chinese went from the trading floors to massive queues outside train stations for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

The week is the busiest for travel in the populous nation, as Chinese travel back to their home towns.

European stocks turned lower following the latest jobs data Stateside, with disappointing German factory orders data out earlier in the day having done little to bolster sentiment.

Oil prices reversed earlier gains, with West Texas Intermediate dropping 2.27% to $31.00 per barrel and Brent edging higher by 0.21% to $34.13.

In company news, shares in LinkedIn plunged after the social media company late on Thursday forecast slower growth for the year.

Symantec’s shares jumped after it revealed Silver Lake will be giving it a $500m cash injection.

From a sector standpoint, the biggest losses were sustained by the following industrial groups: Business training (-27.84%), Travel&tourism (-5.38%) and recreational services (-5.28%).

S&P 500 - Risers
Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) $57.10 +9.91%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $9.34 +5.66%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $90.99 +4.57%
Aon plc (AON) $92.87 +4.41%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $24.41 +4.41%
Adt Corp (ADT) $27.97 +3.71%
Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (MJN) $71.94 +3.30%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $9.10 +3.29%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $19.76 +3.02%
Rowan Companies plc (RDC) $13.15 +2.90%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $2.18 -21.86%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $24.96 -15.07%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $58.51 -12.93%
Hess Corp. (HES) $38.02 -12.54%
News Corp Class A (NWSA) $11.10 -9.09%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $24.88 -8.70%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $17.12 -8.69%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $58.37 -8.53%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $79.20 -8.29%
Red Hat Inc. (RHT) $63.14 -7.99%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $49.38 +1.63%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.97 +1.07%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $67.00 +0.87%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $128.57 +0.72%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $81.20 +0.62%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $80.08 +0.31%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $66.12 +0.24%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $29.03 +0.10%
3M Co. (MMM) $153.47 +0.02%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $57.17 -4.99%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $115.40 -4.36%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $116.43 -3.86%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $50.16 -3.54%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $100.54 -3.23%
Visa Inc. (V) $71.54 -2.90%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $22.89 -2.76%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $94.02 -2.67%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.04 -2.45%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $82.88 -2.25%