NEW YORK, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks finished lower on Friday after the nation’s monthly jobs report came in weaker than expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.81 points, or 0.01 percent, to 36,231.66. The S&P 500 decreased 19.02 points, or 0.41 percent, to 4,677.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 144.96 points, or 0.96 percent, to 14,935.90.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with consumer discretionary and technology down 1.65 percent and 1.01 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. Energy rose 1.45 percent, the best-performing group.
U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher with seven of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.
The U.S. Labor Department reported on Friday that U.S. employers added 199,000 jobs in December, with the unemployment rate falling by 0.3 percentage point to 3.9 percent.
The jobs growth is far below the expectations of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal, which estimated a gain of 422,000 jobs. It also represented the smallest monthly gain in a year.