The previous day's positive reversal was wiped out Friday, after stocks resumed a sell-off following a weaker-than-expected jobs report.
XWall Street gave a cool reception to the November jobs report. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs, below the consensus forecast of 190,000. The unemployment rate held at 3.7%.
It was another bit of bad news for Wall Street, which started the week with high hopes regarding a resolution to the trade war with China. The arrest of a Chinese executive Thursday threw cold water on those hopes.
The Nasdaq composite sold off 3%. The index sank below Thursday's low, erasing that day's positive price reversal. The Nasdaq also closed below 7000 and is testing an area of support around that level since late October.
The S&P 500 lost 2.3% and the Dow Jones industrial average 2.2%. Both are down for the year after Friday's losses. The Nasdaq still has a small gain for 2018. Indexes closed near the session lows. Volume fell from Thursday's totals, according to unconfirmed figures.
'Death Cross' For Indexes?
The 50-day moving averages of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are now below the 200-day moving averages. Such inversions reflect broad weakness. But they don't necessarily have a great track record as predictors of bear markets.
"A potential 'death cross,' where the S&P 500 50-day moving average crosses below its 200 day, has historically been followed by above-average returns in the short term," noted John Lynch, chief investment strategist for LPL Financial. "So we would disregard those media headlines in search of clicks."
Still, the market is on wobbly legs. The Nasdaq has now spent nine straight weeks at or below its 40-week moving average.
Energy stocks rebounded after OPEC and Russia agreed to reduce oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day. The price of U.S. crude jumped 2.2% to $52.61 a barrel.
Oil drilling, exploration & production, pipeline and integrated oil companies were all in the top 12 industry groups Friday. Oil-sensitive stocks such as airlines, airfreight and logistics companies were among the poorest performing.
The retail sector led the market lower. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) slid 3.7%. Ulta Beauty (ULTA) and Lululemon Athletica (LULU) plummeted after their earning reports. Both stocks were removed from IBD Leaderboard.
Both stocks also were the worst performing in the IBD 50. The index of leading stocks lost about 4% on the day and is down more than 20% from its peak. All but two stocks on the IBD 50 closed lower, and 30 lost more than 3%.
Technology shares also were sharply lower. The Philadelphia semiconductor index plunged 3.7%. The software sector was broadly lower, too.
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