By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks fell on Friday as sharp
drops in once high-flying technology and biotech stocks dragged the
rest of the market down.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.3% and is on track to record a
second weekly loss in a row. Closing at this level would mean the
worst day in two months.
The markets opened higher following a government report showing
a steady pace of jobs growth sending both the S&P 500 and the
Dow Jones Industrial Average to intraday highs. But early gains
soon dissipated.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) was the worst performing index,
falling 100 points, or 2.4%, to 4,137.51. Biotechnology and
Internet stocks were the worst hit. The iShares Nasdaq
Biotechnology ETF(IBB) , a benchmark for that sector, fell 3.6%.
Nasdaq component Apple Inc. (AAPL), its heaviest weight, was down
1.1%. Facebook Inc. (FB) , considered a momentum play, tumbled
4.5%.
The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 16 points, or 0.9%, to 1,872.75.
Technology and consumer discretionary sector stocks were leading
the losses, while investors piled into the defensive utilities
sector, the only one still trading higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped 87 points, or
0.5%, to 16,485.15. Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Visa Inc (V), which
both fell 3%, were leading the losses among the blue chips.
The U.S. created 192,000 jobs in March as hiring rebounded in
the early spring. Hiring in January and February was also stronger
than originally reported. The unemployment rate remained unchanged
at 6.7% as more people went searching for jobs. Economist polled by
MarketWatch expected a gain of 200,000 jobs.
"The report was remarkably consistent with what we have been
seeing in the past year or so, in one word good but not great,"
said Anthony Valeri, investment strategist at LPL Financial.
"Looking at the fed fund futures, this might mean that the Fed
will stay in the game a little longer than anticipated when it
comes to raising rates," he added.
GrubHub, Mylan, CarMax
Among individual stocks, GrubHub Inc. (GRUB) shares rose 37% in
their market debut.
Mylan Inc (MYL) shares rose 4.2% after reports that Meda AB
rejected its proposal to combine the two businesses. "All continued
discussions between Meda and Mylan have been terminated without
further actions," said Meda in a statement.
CarMax Inc. (KMX) shares fell 3.7% after fourth-quarter results
fell short of Wall Street forecasts.
Shares of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) rose 4%, adding to a
14.5% gain on Thursday, after the company agreed to a settle all
claims against its subsidiary Kerr-McGee for $5.15 billion. The
case stems from the bankruptcy of Tronox Inc., which was spun off
from Kerr-McGee before it was bought by Anadarko in 2006.
In overseas markets, European stocks rose slightly, their
ninth-straight gain. Stocks in Asia closed out mostly higher,
though gains were muted ahead of the U.S. data. Gold (GCM4) moved
higher, along with oil (CLK4), while the dollar fell against the
Japanese yen after the jobs report.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
DoubleLine's Jeffrey Gundlach: Stocks are vulnerable
Charles Schwab, Jack Bogle join the debate on high-frequency
trading
For longtime unemployed, full-time work is elusive
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires