U.S. stock futures plunged Friday after the jobs report for September came in well below Wall Street expectations.

North American stocks were hammered Thursday as the fourth quarter kicked off, with U.S. economic data triggering worries over the health of the economy.

Today’s economic news is just as grim. The U.S. Labour Department said Friday that employers eliminated more jobs than expected last month as the unemployment rate climbed to 9.8%.

Nonfarm payrolls declined by 263,000 in September, with ththe largest job losses were in construction, manufacturing, retail trade and government.

Economists had expected a 175,000 decrease.

In commodities news, benchmark crude for November deliver was down 95¢ at US$69.87 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Asian markets followed Wall Street lower overnight. Japan’s Nikkei 225 average dropped 246.77 points, or 2.5%, to 9,731.8. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 579.96, or 2.8%, to 20,375.49 after being closed Thursday for a national holiday.

In Europe, the UK’s FTSE-100 lost 0.6%, Germany’s DAX declined 0.7% and France’s CAC-40 fell 1.1%.

The benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange plummeted by more than 300 points on Thursday, as disappointing economic data from south of the border dampened prospects for a speedy recovery of the export-dependent Canadian economy.

The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 323.20 points, or 2.8%, to close at 11,071.76, its lowest level in more than three weeks. All 10 main groups on the TSX incurred losses on Thursday.

Materials stocks led the plunge, finishing down 4%, while the sub-gold index fell 3.7%.

The energy group dropped 3.5%, despite small gains in oil futures, and financial stocks fell 2.5%.

Junior stocks also finished with hefty losses. The S&P/TSX Venture index closed at 1,250.28, down 26.93 points, or 2.1%.

In New York, U.S. equities also tumbled as economic data revealed that initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time in four weeks.

In addition, an index gauging U.S. manufacturing activities fell in September following strong performance the previous month.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 203 points, or 2.1%, to end at 9,509.28, its lowest level in more than three weeks.

The S&P 500 index declined 27.23 points, or 2.6%, to close at 1,029.85.

The Nasdaq composite index shed 64.94 points, or 3.1%, to end at 2,057.48.

IE