U.S. stocks end sharply lower after strong jobs report keeps Fed on hiking path, but post gain for week

U.S. stocks finished the week in the red after a still-strong September jobs report Friday suggested the central bank would not alter the course of monetary policy soon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -2.11% fell 630 points, or 2.1%, to finish at 29,297. The S&P 500 SPX, -2.80% lost 2.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -3.80% slid 3.8%. Friday’s employment report showed the U.S. economy added 263,000 new jobs in September, slightly lower than Dow Jones’ forecast of 275,000 jobs, and well below the 315,000 new positions added in August. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, declined to 3.5% from an August reading of 3.7%. Despite the selloff, the S&P booked a 1.5% weekly gain after back-to-back rallies earlier in the week, while the Dow gained 2% and the Nasdaq was up 0.7%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.