Rate Hike Fears Lower Stocks

U.S. stocks closed down more than 1% on Friday as investors weighed a jobs report that indicated an interest rate hike could come sooner rather than later.

The Dow Jones Industrials dwindled 278.94 points, or 1.5%, at 17,856.78, with Johnson & Johnson and Procter and Gamble the greatest decliners. On the week, the loss was 275.92 points, or 1.5%.

The S&P 500 dipped 29.78 points, or 1.4%, to 2,071.26.

The NASDAQ index faltered 55.44 points, or 1.1%, to 4,927.37

Apple is expected to join the Dow on March 18, replacing AT&T. Shares of the iPhone maker held higher but below records, while the wireless services provider fell more than 1%.

In corporate news, Staples reported a 3.7% fall in quarterly sales, as a strong dollar and waning demand for computers and accessories hurt profits.

The office supply retailer posted a net loss attributable to the company of $260.4 million U.S., including a pre-tax charge of $410 million U.S. as a result of impairment of goodwill in its international operations.

In the economic docket, the U.S. trade balance data for January showed $41.75 billion U.S., a decrease from December''s $45.60 billion U.S.

The jobs report showed a gain of 295,000, above expectations of 240,000 in February, down from 257,000 in January. The unemployment rate fell to 5.5%, while hourly wages ticked up 0.1%, below consensus and off the surprise 0.5% gain in January.

Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries fell sharply, raising yields to 2.24% from Thursday''s 2.11%. Treasury prices and yields tend to move in opposite directions.

Oil prices sank $1.17 to $49.56 U.S.

Gold prices were bruised $30.10 to $1,166.10 U.S.