Stocks are set to sink at Friday's open after the government reported U.S. employers added a scant 21,000 workers to payrolls last month, landing far short of expectations and disappointing Wall Street after last year's sizzling rally. "This is a terribly disappointing report," said Joel Naroff, president at Naroff Economic Advisors. "The economy clearly needs to see better job growth to support consumer spending." Hopes had been high that the struggling job market would show more strength amid other signs of an improving U.S. economy. The report is likely to trigger profit-taking after the stock market surged last year. Economists had forecast a February payrolls gain of 125,000 new jobs. The weak jobs data also is likely to be a setback for President George W. Bush's campaign for re-election. February's unemployment rate held steady at 5.6 percent. Equity futures sank after the jobs data. Futures for the Standard & Poor's 500 dropped 5 points to 1,149.20, futures for the Nasdaq 100 lost 11.50 points to 1,466 and futures for the Dow Jones industrials fell 56 points to 10,525. The report also showed job creation in November and December was less than previously thought, adding to the weak tone of the report. The department revised lower jobs gains in December to 97,000 from 112,000 and for November to 8,000 from 16,000. Shares of Intel Corp. , considered a bellwether for technology stocks, added to the sour sentiment. Its shares declined to $29.03 before the bell from $29.65.
The world's largest chip maker after Thursday's close lowered the midpoint of its quarterly revenue forecast by $100 million -- missing Wall Street expectations -- as an oversupply of computer chips to Asia sapped sales to the region. On Thursday, the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> closed up 21.75 points, or 1.07 percent, at 2,055.11. The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> ended down 5.11 points, or 0.05 percent, at 10,588. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 3.84 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,154.87.///