Markets hit biggest weekly loss in 2 years, Dow falls 666 points

North American markets endeda volatileweek with sharp losses led by the Dow Jones index losing 666 points, or 2.5 per cent, in its biggestdecline in two years.

TheDow Jones Industrial Average closed down at25,520.96 points, whilethe S&P 500 lost2.1per cent to2,762.13points.

Both benchmark indexes saw the worst week of losses since January 2016.

The tech-heavyNasdaqComposite dropped twoper cent to7,240.95 on Friday marking itsworst week of losses since February 2016.

The declinein U.S.stocks deepened in the afternoon, followingjobs data that showed the strongest annual wage growth since 2009, raising the prospect of higher inflation and more interest rate hikes.

Nonfarm payrolls jumped by 200,000 jobs in Januaryafterrising 160,000 in December, while theunemployment rate remainedat a 17-year low of 4.1per cent.

ButScotiabankeconomist Derek Holt said in his morning note that he was cautious aboutthe acceleration in wage growth for a few reasons.

"Wages may have acceleratedbut incomes in aggregate were dented by working fewer hours," he said.

RobertKavcicofBMOCapital Markets said the "relentless" rise in bond yields is probably not helping markets at this point.

"The 10-year Treasury is pushing 2.8 per centfor the first time since early 2014, and the two-year is nearing 2.2 per centfor the first time since the Fed eased aggressively during the financial crisis," he said.

As interest rates rise, the value of existingbondsfalls and borrowing to invest becomes more expensive.

Earnings impact

Weak earnings from several large companies like Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Google's parent company, Alphabet, also weighed on the benchmark indexes.

Index heavyweight Apple's shares were also down 4.3per centafter its earnings on Thursday showed that the tech giantsold77.3 millioniPhonesin the last quarter, below the 80 million expected byanalysts.

The Canadian dollar, meanwhile,tradedat 80.78US cents, down from81.38US cents on Thursday.

The greenback was stronger against most major currencies on the strong jobs data.

Canadian market

Falling oil prices and a continuing decline in the marijuana sectoralso contributed to big losses on the Canadian market.

The S&P/TSX Composite lost 255 points, or 1.6per cent, to 15,606.03points, marking its worst decline in nearly five months.

The marketlost some four per cent this week, which is its worst week since January 2016.

The energy and materials sectors were among the hardest hit, as crude oil and gold prices fell.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 35cents to $65.45US a barrel in New York, while gold was down $10.60to $1,337.30an ounce.

Shares of Imperial Oil finisheddown 4.3per cent after its fourth-quarter earnings fell short of market expectations.

Weed prices

The healthcare sector was the biggest loser on the index as marijuana stocks continued to lose value.

Analysts said cannabis producers will continue to see more volatility in the weeks ahead onissues such asoversupply in stockand falling prices.

A government web survey on Friday showed that Canadian marijuana costs $6.85 a gram after suggesting earlier that weed prices have been falling in recent years as illegal producers boosted production.

Shares of the country's biggest marijuana producer Canopy Growth fell 12.5 per cent on Friday.