Stocks slump after murky jobs report as markets swing

By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writers

Wall Street closed out a bumpy week with more losses on Friday following a mixed reading on U.S. jobs markets that investors said was tough to parse. The S&P 500 gave up an early gain and closed 0.8% lower. The benchmark index is coming off a jolting stretch where it swerved by at least 1.2% in five straight days, pounded by uncertainty about how the newest coronavirus variant and about when the Federal Reserve will halt its support for markets. Treasury yields fell, rose and then fell again as investors struggled to square what the jobs report means the Fed will do.