U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

U.S. stocks declined Friday on economic data and earnings news.

The Labor Department said that employers added 193,000 jobs in January, up from a 140,000 gain the prior month. The upswing in job creation signaled that the economy was off to a good start this year, but the upbeat data also raised concerns the Federal Reserve would keep raising interest rates. However, the job growth was less than the 250,000 rise forecast by economists, although the unemployment rate slipped to 4.7% from a previous 4.9% level.

Falling consumer confidence widened stocks' losses. The University of Michigan reported consumer sentiment index slid 2.2 points to 91.2 compared with expectations of a slight decrease to 93.1.

Disappointing earnings reports from Amazon.com Inc and appliance maker Maytag Corp also weighed on sentiment. Maytag posted a wider Q4 deficit on restructuring and impairment charges. Internet retailer Amazon.com posted 43% profit drop in Q4, missing estimates. The decline came despite higher sales as the company continues to invest heavily in technology and marketing.

Technology stocks were notable movers to the downside in the early going. The Internet sector was dragged lower by Amazon (AMZN: chart), which fell down more than 11% on earnings report. The computer hardware sector also posted weakness. Housing stocks moved lower on the prospect of higher mortgage rates, extending yesterday's losses. The gold sector was a conspicuous decliner in the early going with a sharp drop of 3.5%.

The airline sector moved lower, posting a decline of 1.8% in early going, following volatile trading over the last couple sessions. On Wednesday the sector fell on disappointing earnings from JetBlue (JBLU: chart), but bounced back during Thursday's trading on a sharp fall in oil prices.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 49.87, or 0.46%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 7.80, or 0.61%, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 18.64, or 0.82%.

Bonds declined, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.60% from 4.56% late Wednesday, but the yield curve remained inverted as the two-year note pressed higher to 4.62%.

ECONOMIC NEWS

The Department of Commerce release its report on factory orders in the month of December on Friday, showing that order growth came in slightly higher than expected.

The report showed that new orders for manufactured goods rose 1.1 percent in December following an upwardly revised increase of 3.3 percent in November. Economists had expected orders to increase 1.0 percent compared to the 2.5 percent increase originally reported for November.

The increase in factory orders came as new orders for manufactured durable goods rose 1.8 percent in December after rising 5.3 percent in November. The growth in durable goods orders was upwardly revised from the previously reported 1.3 percent growth.

New orders for manufactured non-durable goods also increased in December, rising by 0.3 percent.

The report also showed that shipments rose 2.2 percent in December following a 0.8 percent increase in November. At the same time, inventories rose 0.5 percent after rising 0.3 percent in the previous month.

The U.S. economy added fewer than expected jobs in the month of January, according to a report from the Department of Labor. At the same time, the report showed an upward revision to December job growth and an unexpected decline in the unemployment rate.

The report showed that non-farm payroll employment rose by 193,000 in January following an upwardly revised increase of 140,000 in December. Economists had been expecting payrolls to increase by 275,000 compared to the increase of 108,000 originally reported for December.

The Labor Dept. said that job gains occurred in several industries, including construction, mining, food services and drinking places, health care, and financial activities. Modest declines were seen in employment in retail trade and government.

The report also showed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.7 percent in January from 4.9 percent in December. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

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