North American stocks were falling sharply at the start of trading on Friday, reflecting disappointment over the Labor Department's reading of U.S. employment figures for May.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 163 points or 1.6 per cent, to 10,092. The broader S&P 500 fell 19 points or 1.7 per cent, to 1084. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index fell 121 points or 1 per cent, to 11,691.
The selloff was widespread, with all 30 members of the Dow falling. Higher risk cyclical stocks took the biggest hits: General Electric Co. fell 2.8 per cent, Microsoft Corp. fell 2.6 per cent, Alcoa Inc. fell 2.6 per cent and Home Depot Inc. fell 2.1 per cent.
In Canada, energy stocks were among the biggest decliners after the price of crude oil fell toward $73 (U.S.) a barrel, down about $1.50. Suncor Energy Inc. fell 0.9 per cent and Canadian Oil Sands Trust fell 1.1 per cent.
Gold producers were also weak, illustrating that there are indeed few places to hide. Barrick Gold Corp. fell 0.6 per cent and Goldcorp Inc. fell 0.7 per cent.
Financials also slid lower, with Royal Bank of Canada down 0.9 per cent and Bank of Nova Scotia down 1.1 per cent.
These problems in the stock market reflect disappointment over the number of U.S. job gains in May. Expectations had been high. Economists expected the addition of more than half a million jobs. Non-farm payrolls actually rose 413,000 - and the most disappointing part is that after you account for the hiring of census workers, private payrolls rose by just 41,000, which is the slowest employment growth this year.