US stocks tumbled in a volatile session on Friday, marking a second straight day of sharp declines as the latest economic data provided little clarity as to when the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates. Stocks rose as much as 0.3 percent before turning decisively lower, putting the S&P 500 on track for its biggest weekly decline since May 2012.
The US Labour Department reported that 209,000 jobs were created in July, below the 233,000 that economists had expected, while data from the Institute for Supply Management showed that manufacturing had its fastest expansion in more than three years in July.
"We have conflicting reports about when the Fed might or might not move, and on top of that we still have a lot of geopolitical issues that the market has to deal with," said Nick Sargen, chief economist at Fort Washington Investment Advisors in Cincinnati.
With the day's decline, the S&P 500 is about 3.6 percent away from the all-time closing high it posted on July 24.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 111.64 points, or 0.67 percent, to 16,451.66, the S&P 500 lost 12.95 points, or 0.67 percent, to 1,917.72, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 41.25 points, or 0.94 percent, to 4,328.53.
Losses were broad, with more than 70 percent of companies traded on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq lower. The only sectors to rise were defensive, with consumer staples up 0.7 percent and utilities up 0.2 percent.
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