Stocks Ended Lower after March Jobs Report

U.S. stocks closed lower Friday, after the release of an employment report that showed bigger-than-expected job losses in March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 360.91 points, or 1.69%, to 21,052.53. The S&P 500 lost 38.25 points, or 1.51%, to 2,488.65. The Nasdaq Composite declined 114.23 points, or 1.53%, to 7,373.08. For the week, the Dow ended was down 2.7%, the S&P 500 declined about 2.3% and the Nasdaq fell 1.7%.

Oil prices settled sharply higher on Friday, boosted by hopes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will deliver a production cut and end a devastating price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose $3.02, or 11.9%, to settle at $28.34 a barrel. For the week, front-month prices were about 31.8% higher. June Brent crude climbed $4.17, or 13.9%, to $34.11 a barrel. It saw a weekly gain of 22%.