FROM MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD:

U.S. STOCK MARKETS

A flat reading from the U.S. jobs market sank stocks and plunged the Nasdaq to its biggest single-session drop since November. Stocks shot lower at the open and remained pinned down for the duration of Friday's trading.

The Nasdaq Composite careened 67.96 points, or 2.25%, to 2956.34. Friday's losses punctuated what was the biggest weekly decline for the technology-heavy benchmark since November, falling 3.7% during the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Standard & Poor's 500-stock index had the biggest drop in a month. The Dow fell 168.32 points, or 1.27%, to 13038.27, while the S&P 500 shed 22.47 points, or 1.61%, to 1369.10. Dow industrials slid 1.4% for the week, while the S&P 500 lost 2.4%.

Both benchmarks fell for the first week in three. All 30 of the Dow's components fell. Technology stocks led the market lower as Cisco Systems shed 3%. Energy-sector stocks including Chevron, down 2.1%, fell hard, as oil prices moved back below $100 a barrel for first time since February.

Bank of America led all Dow components lower, falling 3.3%. Kraft Foods fell 0.9% with the broader market after the blue-chip packaged-food company's first-quarter earnings and revenue both topped analysts' expectations, and the company also backed its outlook for the year.

LinkedIn rallied 7.2% after the company reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat estimates and raised its full-year revenue outlook.

The professional-networking website company disclosed plans to buy presentation service SlideShare through a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $119 million. The selloff took flight after a Labor Department report showed the U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected last month.

Nonfarm payrolls rose 115,000 in April, while economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires anticipated an increase of 168,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate ticked down a 10th of a percentage point to 8.1%, though some of the drop was due to people leaving the workforce. Should the trend continue, the Federal Reserve has said it could consider additional measures to stimulate the economy.

In corporate news, Dolby Laboratories rose 18% after its fiscal second-quarter results topped analysts' estimates and the company said Microsoft will incorporate its Dolby Digital Plus in all versions of its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system.

EUROPEAN STOCK MARKETS

European stocks ended sharply lower Friday ahead of elections in France and Greece, tumbling after lackluster U.S. jobs data and signs of a deepening downturn in euro-zone business activity.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 1.8% to 253.00, closing the week with a 2.4% loss. Stocks were mostly lower during the trading session, but the U.S. jobs data pushed then steeply lower.

Oil firms put the most pressure on the pan-European index as oil prices slipped below $100 a barrel. In London, BP PLC dropped 3.1%, BG Group PLC fell 4.3%, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC lost 2%.

The FTSE 100 index declined 1.9% to 5,655.06, and was off was off 2.1% for the week. Miners added further downward pressure. Antofagasta PLC shed 3.3%, BHP Billiton PLC gave up 3.9% and Rio Tinto PLC slipped 4.4%.

Metals prices were mixed. European markets headed lower after the Markit euro-zone composite purchasing managers' index showed business activity dropped sharply in April.

The index fell to 46.7 from 49.1 in March, coming in below an earlier estimate of 47.4. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. Investors were also looking ahead to the weekend's elections in France and Greece.

The French CAC-40 index sank 1.9% to 3,161.97, down 3.2% on the week, as Alstom SA declined 4.3%. The power engineering and train company missed earnings expectations and saw sales drop 5% in the year ended March 31, reflecting a slowdown in orders from 2009 and 2010.

LeGrand SA bucked the trend and added 2.5% after confirming 2012 targets based on first-quarter achievements.

In Germany, the DAX 30 index was off 2% at 6,561.47. The index shed 3.5% on the week. Retailer Metro AG lost 2.7% to EUR22.93 after UBS lowered its target price on the stock and kept its sell recommendation. BMW AG slid 3.8% as Credit Suisse removed the stock from its Europe focus list, but kept an outperform rating on the car maker. Daimler AG was also lower, off 3.5% and Volkswagen AG lost 2.9%.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS

Asian stock markets ended lower Friday, with a sharp overnight drop in crude oil hitting energy plays, while sentiment remained cautious ahead of the closely watched U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.3%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.8%.

The Shanghai Composite Index moved in and out of positive territory before settling 0.5% higher, while Japanese markets remained closed for a holiday. Energy shares took an especially heavy hit in Asia after benchmark U.S. crude-oil futures plunged 2.6% in New York trading Thursday.

In Hong Kong, shares of Cnooc lost 1.3%, while those of PetroChina dropped 1.9%. Overnight weakness in other commodities also hit resource shares across Asia.

In Hong Kong, Aluminum Corp. of China fell 3%, and resource-focused conglomerate Citic Pacific traded lower by 1.7%. Among major exporters moving lower, Hong Kong-listed apparel firm Esprit Holdings was down 5.5%, while Samsung Electronics lost 2.9% in Seoul despite the release of its new Galaxy phone.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed mixed on the London Metal Exchange Friday as investors digested a weaker-than-expected nonfarm payroll reading from the U.S.

At the close, LME three-month copper was 0.7% lower at $8,174 a metric ton. Aluminum ended the session down 1.1% on the day at $2,066/ton.

The LME will be closed Monday as the UK celebrates a bank holiday. Oil futures tumbled to their lowest level in three months Friday, blowing through $100 a barrel and continuing on lower, in a rout spurred by a weaker-than-expected reading on U.S. employment in April.

The weak jobs data has prompted fresh worries about global oil demand, and comes on the heels of several recent reports that suggest an eroding outlook for the global economy.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled $4.05, or 4%, lower at $98.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest finish for the benchmark since Feb. 7.

The slide marks the biggest one-day drop for the contract since December. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange fell $2.90, or 2.5%, to $113.18 a barrel, its weakest finish since Feb. 2.

Gold futures settled higher on disappointing U.S. economic data that renewed talk of stimulus, ending a three-day slide. The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, gained $10.40, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,645.20 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.