04:48 PM EDT, 09/06/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes tumbled on Friday after official data showed the economy added fewer jobs than estimated in August.

The Nasdaq Composite slumped 2.6% to 16,690.8, while the S&P 500 declined 1.7% to 5,408.4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1% to 40,345.4. Barring real estate -- which was little changed -- all sectors saw losses, led by communication services and consumer discretionary.

For the week, the Nasdaq plunged 5.8%, while the S&P 500 retreated 4.2%. The Dow declined 2.9%.

In economic news, total US nonfarm payrolls rose by 142,000 last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The consensus was for a 165,000 increase, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% from July's 4.3%, in line with analysts' estimate for August.

"Clearly, the labor market has cooled over the past year, but we feel there isn't enough evidence to suggest that the recent softening is the start of a more serious deterioration in underlying fundamentals," TD Economics said in a note to clients. "Absent a change to this view, we expect three quarter-point rate cuts from the (Federal Reserve) by year-end."

The odds of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut on Sept. 18 jumped to 69% Friday from 60% Thursday, while the probability of a more aggressive 50-basis-point reduction fell to 31% from 40%, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

The US two-year yield declined 9.1 basis points to 3.66%, while the 10-year rate dropped one basis point to 3.72%.

It is now "appropriate" for the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee to start easing its monetary policy, New York Fed President John Williams said. Separately, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said it's "important" to begin the easing process later this month.

"It is likely that a series of reductions will be appropriate," Waller said, adding that deciding on the pace of rate cuts will be challenging. "I do not believe the economy is in a recession or necessarily headed for one soon," he added.

Last month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the "time has come" to start reducing interest rates, though the timing and extent of rate cuts will depend on incoming data.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.5% to $68.09 a barrel Friday, headed for a fourth straight weekly loss.

On Thursday, certain members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, or OPEC+, agreed to extend their voluntary oil output cuts for another two months.

"Clearly, (market) sentiment is still negative given worries over demand," ING said in a Friday report. The oil balance is in surplus over 2025, indicating prices are expected to continue to be under pressure without OPEC+ "taking longer term action," the firm wrote.

In company news, Broadcom ( AVGO ) shares tumbled 10%, the worst performer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Late Thursday, the chipmaker outlined a fiscal fourth-quarter revenue outlook that missed Wall Street's views.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA) saw the second-steepest decline on the two indexes, down 8.5%.

DocuSign ( DOCU ) shares rose 4%. The electronic signature company late Thursday slightly raised its full-year revenue outlook after recording better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results.

Gold fell 0.7% to $2,525.10 per troy ounce, while silver decreased 3% to $28.24 per ounce.