DHAKA: US stocks fell on Friday after lower-than-expected jobs figures signaled a potential softening in the US economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 211.75 points to 16,204.83, while the S&P 500 shed 35.43 points to 1,880.02, reports the BBC.

The Nasdaq fell 146 points to 4,363.15 as investors sold off tech stocks.

Earlier, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said the US economy added 151,000 jobs in January, far fewer than the 292,000 created in December.

The increase did bring the unemployment rate to 4.9% - the lowest level since the financial crisis.

In the tech sector some stocks saw dramatic losses.

Shares of social media site LinkedIn were down 44%, a day after the company forecast lower than expected profits for the first quarter of 2016.

Amazon shares dropped by 6.3%, while Apple stocks lost 2.6%.

Shares of Google’s parent company, Alphabet fell 3.6%. On the Dow, Nike shares dropped 5% and shares of burger chain McDonald’s fell by 4.4%.

Energy stocks were also hit hard as oil prices dropped.

Brent crude fell to $34.06 a barrel, while West Texas crude dropped to $30.89.

BDST: 1330 HRS, FEB 06, 2016
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