US stocks pummelled by bleak jobs data

US stocks closed more than two per cent lower overnight after a disappointing report on the United States's labour market showed that job creation ground to a halt in August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 251.57 points, or 2.19 per cent, to 11,242.00 in closing trade. The broader S&P 500 fell 30.48 points, or 2.53 per cent, to 1,173.94, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 66.01 points, or 2.59 per cent, to 2,480.03. Stocks dived after the highly awaited US non-farm payrolls report revealed that the US economy created no jobs in August, leaving the unemployment rate at a stubbornly high 9.1 per cent.   Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.