Stocks retreat after huge run-up

A disappointing jobs report rattled Wall Street, ending a seven-day advance for the Nasdaq composite index yesterday.

It also ended a five-day rise of more than 250 points for the Dow Jones industrials.

The Labour department reported that while the unemployment rate slipped to 6.1% in August, companies slashed payrolls by 93,000.

The report was weaker than expected and delivered mixed signals about the US'S overall economic health. Wall Street was expecting jobs to increase by 20,000 to 25,000.

The Dow closed down 84.56, or 0.9%, at 9,503.34. The loss followed a five-day advance of 254 points that carried the blue-chip index to its highest level since June 18, 2002.

The Nasdaq dropped 10.85, or 0.6%, at 1,858.12, following a seven-day gain of 104 points that had taken it to its highest closing level since March 19, 2002, when it stood at 1,880.87.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.60, or 0.6%, to 1,021.37, having garnered an eight-day gain of nearly 35 points. Thursday's close was the highest level seen since June 18, 2002.

Procter & Gamble Co. fell 45 cents to 90.98, having climbed 2.63 on Thursday when it said it third-quarter earnings would beat analysts' expectations.

Cisco Systems Inc. declined 17 cents to 20.42, having gained 35 cents on Thursday following an upgrade by Goldman Sachs.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers 4 to 3 on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was moderate.

The Russell 2000 index, the barometer of smaller company stocks, fell 3.69, or 0.7%, to 508.87.