Indexes fall sharply on Wall Street after US job growth slows, disappointing investors

NEW YORK, N.Y. – An unexpectedly weak report on the job market is sending stocks sharply lower on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 105 points at 14,500 at midday Friday, a drop of 0.7 per cent. The Dow had been down as much as 171 points earlier.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 13 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 1,547. Technology fell the most of the 10 industry groups in the index.

The Nasdaq was down a per cent, or 34 points, at 3,190.

The government reported that U.S. employers added the fewest jobs in nine months in March and more people gave up looking for work. The report was worse than economists were expecting.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to its lowest level this year, 1.69 per cent.

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