US: Stocks tumble on weak jobs report

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks opened sharply lower Friday after the September employment report showed the US economy added just 142,000 jobs last month.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 16,031.73, down 240.28 points (1.48 per cent).

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 28.57 (1.49 per cent) to 1,895.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 69.32 (1.50 per cent) to 4,557.77.

The jobs report fell far short of estimates that the US economy added 205,000 jobs in September. The Labour Department also trimmed its estimates for jobs growth in July and August.

Analysts lowered the odds the US Federal Reserve will imminently raise interest rates.

"These data help the case for the Fed to stay on hold in October," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics.

AFP