Nasdaq Down Over 300 Points; US Economy Loses 92,000 Jobs In February

Market Overview - U.S. stocks experienced a decline, with the Nasdaq Composite dropping over 300 points on Friday. The Dow fell by 1.62% to 47,179.83, the NASDAQ decreased by 1.47% to 22,414.12, and the S&P 500 dropped by 1.38% to 6,736.10 [1] Employment Data - The U.S. economy reported a loss of 92,000 nonfarm payrolls in February 2026, a significant decrease from January's revised job gains of 126,000, and below economists' expectations of 59,000. The unemployment rate increased from 4.3% to 4.4%, surpassing forecasts of 4.3%. Average hourly earnings rose by 0.4% month-over-month, matching January's pace and exceeding consensus estimates of 0.3% [2] Commodity Market - In commodity trading, oil prices increased by 8.3% to $87.74, while gold rose by 0.4% to $5,099.00. Silver also saw a gain of 0.5% to $82.625, whereas copper experienced a slight decline of 0.1% to $5.7970 [3] European Market Performance - European shares declined, with the eurozone's STOXX 600 falling by 1.7%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index decreased by 1.6%, London's FTSE 100 dropped by 1.4%, Germany's DAX dipped by 1.7%, and France's CAC 40 fell by 1.5% during the session [4] Asian Market Performance - Asian markets closed mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.62%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index increasing by 1.72%, China's Shanghai Composite rising by 0.38%, while India's BSE Sensex dipped by 1.37% [5]