US stocks dropped sharply in early trade Friday after a dismal report on the country's jobs situation in May.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 109.32 points (0.89 per cent) at 12,139.23.
The broader S&P 500 index lost 10.01 points (0.76 per cent) to 1,302.93, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gave up 21.52 points (0.78 per cent) to 2,749.59.
The Labor Department reported that the economy added a paltry 54,000 jobs in May, one-quarter of the February-April pace, intensifying the challenge to the Obama administration to get the economy growing.
"While the private sector has added more than 2.1 million jobs over the past 15 months, the unemployment rate is unacceptably high and faster growth is needed to replace the jobs lost in the downturn," White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee said in a statement.
The news sent all the Dow blue chip components tumbling but one, JPMorgan Chase, which added 0.1 per cent.
Boeing fell 2.0 per cent, United Technologies 1.8 per cent, and Caterpillar 1.7 per cent.
On the Nasdaq, Las Vegas gambling czar Wynn Resorts fell 1.8 per cent while News Corp fell 1.9 per cent.
Goldman Sachs gained 0.9 per cent as investors shrugged off Thursday's report that it had been subpoenaed in a New York investigation into its actions during the US financial implosion of 2007-2009.
Bond yields tumbled on the new signs of economic weakness. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.97 per cent from 3.03 per cent late Thursday, while the 30-year bond dropped to 4.22 per cent from 4.25 per cent.
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