Dow ends below 13,000 amid weak payroll data

NEW YORK, April 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S stocks slipped broadly on Monday as investors were disappointed on non-farm payrolls, whose growth failed to hit 200,000 for the first time since November.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 130.55 points, or 1.00 percent, at 12,929.59, which was the first time in a month for the blue-chip average to settle below the psychological level of 13, 000.

The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 15.88 points, or 1.14 percent, to 1,382.20, and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 33.42 points, or 1.08 percent, to 3,047.08.

The payroll data disappointed investors on Monday as the economy added fewer jobs than expected. According to the Labor Department, non-farm payrolls rose by 120,000 in March, failing to reach the 200,000 level for the first time since November 2011. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent from 8.3 percent in the previous month, beating expectations of an unchanged reading and marking the lowest rate seen since January 2009. Although the unemployment slipped a little bit lower, many investors, however, believed that the decline was not because the job market was getting better, but rather because more people gave up searching for jobs.

Moreover, the disappointing data raised investors' expectations of further monetary easing measures by the Federal Reserve.

As for overseas data, China's consumer prices climbed 3.6 percent in March, exceeding the 3.3 percent increase estimated. The potential inflation risk dampened investors' expectations of further easing policies by China's central bank and raised risk- aversion appetite.

As for oil, crude prices fell on Monday as U.S. disappointing job data released on Friday caused recovery concerns and Iran agreed to resume talks with the West.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery slipped 85 cents, or 0.82 percent to settle at 102.46 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, the oil market was closed on Monday. Brent crude for May delivery dropped 76 cents to 122.67 dollars a barrel in electronic trade.

The U.S. dollar fell against major currencies in late New York trading on Monday after data showed that U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected in March. The dollar index lost 0.13 percent to 79.74.