Stocks sink after dismal jobs report

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones industrial average sank 150 points, or 1%. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq dropped 1.5%.

The sell-off was broad based, with 29 of the 30 components of the Dow in the red. UnitedHealth (UNH, Fortune 500) was the only Dow stock up in early trading. More than 90% of the S&P 500 and and Nasdaq 100 were trading lower. Technology and financial stocks were among the biggest losers.

The U.S. Labor Department's monthly report showed that the economy added only 88,000 jobs in March, the lowest monthly gain since last June and far below expectations. Economists surveyed by CNNMoney had expected a gain of 190,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate slipped to 7.6%, but that was also bad news because nearly 500,000 people dropped out of the labor market. The labor force participation rate, which measures how many people are employed or looking for jobs, fell to 63.3% -- its lowest level since May 1979.

The gloomy snapshot sent investors rushing toward U.S. Treasuries. The 10-year yield dropped to 1.7%, the lowest since December 2012. Gold, which is also perceived to be a traditional safe haven, gained ground too.

Fear & Greed Index: Neutral

In company news, shares of F5 Networks (FFIV) plunged after the technology company announced preliminary quarterly earnings and sales that fell well short of expectations. F5 competitors Cisco Systems (CSCO, Fortune 500) and Juniper Networks (JNPR) were also under pressure.

In South Korea, Samsung Electronics beat market expectations with strong guidance, fueled by the upcoming new model of its Galaxy smartphone, and ahead of its impending quarterly report. The new Samsung product could present more competition to iPhone maker Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500).

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European markets were sharply lower in afternoon trading. The FTSE 100 in London, the DAX in Frankfurt and the CAC 40 in Paris lost about 2%.

Asian markets ended mixed. Japan's Nikkei added 1.6% as the BoJ-induced rally continued. The Nikkei reached its highest level in nearly five years on Friday, as the Bank of Japan took aggressive action to counter persistent deflation by pumping more money into the economy.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 2.7%. Shanghai's market was closed for a holiday.

The dollar was lower against the euro and the British pound, but higher versus the Japanese yen. Oil prices slipped.

First Published: April 5, 2013: 9:45 AM ET

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