U.S. markets hit the ground crawling Friday after a strong upswing Thursday.
The U.S. Labor Department said 192,000 jobs were added to the economy in February, pulling the unemployment rate down from 9 percent to 8.9 percent. The Commerce Department said new factory orders rose 3.1 percent to $445.6 billion in January.
Stocks rose across Asia and were headed higher in most of Europe. But on Wall Street stocks headed lower.
Investor concerns include the price of oil, which topped $103 per barrel, the highest level since the summer of 2008. Rising prices likely translate to less enthusiasm for shopping.
In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 160.45 points or 1.31 percent to 12,097.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 16.88 or 1.27 percent to 1,314.09. The Nasdaq composite index lost 16.99 or 0.96 percent to 2,771.75.
The 10-year treasury note rose 16/32 to yield 3.497 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3986 from Thursday's $1.396. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 82.30 yen from Thursday's 82.36 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 1.02 percent, 107.64, to 10,693.66.
In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.24 percent, 14.70, to 5,990.39.
