US stocks end lower after weak jobs report

US stocks finished lower on Friday, led down by financeial shares, after a surprisingly weak jobs report prompted doubts about the US economy and its ability to sustain a near-term interest rate hike.

The US economy created the fewest number of jobs in more than 5-1/2-years in May as manufacturing and construction employment fell sharply.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by only 38,000 jobs last month, well below economists' forecast for an increase of 164,000.

The group dropped 1.38 per cent, its worst fall in about two months, with declines in shares of Bank of America (BAC.N) and Citigroup (C.N).

Utilities .SPLRCU, a high-dividend-paying group whose appeal declines when rates go up, rose 1.66 per cent.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 31.5 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 17,807.06, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 6.13 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 2,099.13 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 28.85 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 4,942.52.

Six of 10 S&P sectors finished lower. The Nasdaq snapped a seven-day winning streak.

Stocks had fallen more steeply during the morning but pared back losses by the afternoon, encouraging some investors. The S&P 500 ended within 1.5 per cent of its record closing high.

The S&P 500 is up about 2.7 per cent in 2016 after a gloomy start to the year amid jitters about the global economy and a volatile oil market.

Among the few bright spots on Friday, Broadcom (AVGO.O) rose 4.9 per cent to $162.56 after the chipmaker reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue.

About 7 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, slightly above the roughly 6.9 billion daily average for the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,644 to 1,376, for a 1.19-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,743 issues fell and 1,077 advanced for a 1.62-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and 1 low; the Nasdaq recorded 48 new highs and 29 lows, according to a news agency report.

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