US stocks slide despite upbeat jobs data

The US stocks reversed early gains to end sharply lower on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index on a seven-session losing streak, as Wall Street digested a stronger-than-expected jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 167.65 points, or 1.02 percent, to 16,346.45. The S&P 500 lost 21.06 points, or 1.08 percent, to 1,922.03. The Nasdaq decreased 45.79 points, or 0.98 percent, to 4,643.63, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US total non-farm payroll employment rose by 292,000 in December, well above market estimates of 200,000 and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5 percent, said the US Labour Department on Friday.

Overseas, China's shares showed signs of stabilization, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index moving up 1.97 percent on Friday, after the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced that the stock market "circuit breaker" mechanism would be suspended.

European equities continued to decline Friday. Germany's benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange dropped 1.31 percent, while Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 Index decreased 0.70 percent.

In a weekly basis, all three major indices posted steep losses, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq plummeting 6.2 percent, 6.0 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.