Stock markets fall as U.S. job creation hits the wall

TORONTO - Stock markets retreated Friday after the United States posted zero job growth in August, increasing worries about the potential for another recession.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index fell 98.33 points to 12,602.41, with losses limited by a strong gain in the gold sector as investors fled to safe havens such as bullion and U.S. Treasurys. Gold rose US$47.80 to US$1,876.90 an ounce.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 253.31 points to 11,240.26, the Nasdaq composite index dropped 65.71 points to 2,480.33 and the S&P 500 index shed 30.45 points to 1,173.97.

The Canadian dollar retreated amid the dismal news from the country's largest trading partner, losing 0.9 of a cent to 101.61 cents US.

Oil prices also fell sharply on demand worries, losing $2.57 to US$86.36 a barrel.

• 

  A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Friday, Sept. 2, 2011. (AP / Jin Lee)

• 

  A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, Sept. 2, 2011 in New York. The jobs report was the weakest in almost a year. It renewed fears that the U.S. might slip back into recession. (AP / Jin Lee)