Wall Street extends heavy losses after weak data

US stock indices fell sharply during trading on Friday following comments from President Donald Trump as well as the release of the monthly employment report, which showed an unexpected decline in job numbers.

Data released by the US Department of Labor showed that the world’s largest economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, while analysts had expected the addition of 58,000 jobs during the same period.

The data also revealed that the US unemployment rate rose to 4.4% last month from 4.3% in January, compared with expectations that the rate would remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said in a post on the Truth Social platform that no agreement would be reached to end the war between the United States and Iran without Tehran’s “unconditional surrender.”

Qatar’s energy minister also warned in an interview with the Financial Times that Gulf energy producers may be forced in the coming days to declare force majeure, which would mean halting production and could push oil prices to $150 per barrel.

He added that the widening conflict in the Middle East could “bring down the world’s economies,” noting that if the war continues for weeks it could affect global GDP growth as energy prices rise, certain products become scarce, and industrial supply chains are disrupted.

In trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.2% (614 points) to 47,340 as of 16:57 GMT. The broader S&P 500 declined 1.2% (85 points) to 6,746, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.1% (254 points) to 22,495.