U.S. markets slide on Friday

New York -- U.S. market indexes declined Friday in early afternoon trading on news from the Labor Department that the United States lost 80,000 jobs in March.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 79.71 points to 12,546.32, down 0.63 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 3.99 to 1,365.32, off 0.29 percent.

The Nasdaq composite index lost 6.59 to 2,356.71, off 0.28 percent.

The 10-year treasury note gained 25/32 to yield 3.498 percent.

The dollar lost ground. The euro traded at $1.5737 from Thursday's $1.5663, while the dollar traded at 101.74 yen from Thursday's 102.38 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index fell 96.68, down 0.72 percent to 13,293.22.

In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 24.30 to 5,915.60 points, up 0.41 percent.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.