U.S. stocks tumble after jobs report

U.S. stocks traded sharply lower around midday Friday, as Wall Street assessed a mixed set of jobs data.

By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 180.04 points, or 1.10 percent, to 16,236.54. The S&P 500 lost 26.32 points, or 1.37 percent, to 1,889.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 106.87 points, or 2.37 percent, to 4,402.69.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 151,000 in January, well below market expectation of 188,000.

The unemployment rate, however, edged down to 4.9 percent in January, dipping below 5 percent for the first time since 2008.

In January, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 12 cents to 25.39 U.S. dollars, beating market estimates. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.5 percent.

Analysts said the mixed jobs report adds little clarity about the health of the U.S. economy.

"Fed officials have been anticipating slower payroll growth for months, so this slowdown is more likely to draw a sigh of relief from FOMC members than concern about potential collapse into weakness," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

Meanwhile, the U.S. goods and services deficit came in at 43.4 billion dollars in December, up 1.1 billion dollars from November and on par with market expectations, the Commerce Department announced Friday.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks closed mildly higher after wavering between gains and losses, as Wall Street meditated on a batch of weaker-than-expected economic reports. Endit