Wall Street's major indexes fell on Friday after the US employment report (NFP) showed an increase of only 22,000 jobs in August, far below expectations of 75,000.
The figure was also a sharp drop from the July job growth, indicating continued weakness in the country's labor market.
The unemployment rate rose as expected to 4.3% from 4.2% previously.
The weak data prompted investors to expect more aggressive monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve (Fed) at its September 17 meeting.
Following the report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 220 points, or nearly 0.5%, while the S&P 500 fell around 0.3%.
The Nasdaq index recorded a smaller decline of about 0.1%.
Bond markets also saw a surge in demand, pushing US government bond yields to their lowest since 2022.
Gold and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin surged as investors turned to safe havens and alternatives.
In conclusion, the much-below-expected August NFP report dealt a major blow to investor sentiment, with major stocks falling and fund flows shifting to bond markets and hedge funds.
The focus now shifts to next week's Fed meeting with high expectations that the central bank will cut interest rates, but the key question remains whether the move will be enough to stem the US economic slowdown.
