The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated on Friday and the S&P 500 slipped from a record high after the August jobs report came in short of expectations, showing the impact of the delta-fueled COVID resurgence.
The 30-stock index dropped 74.73 points to 35,369.09
The S&P 500 lost 1.52 points to 4,535.43.
The NASDAQ Composite improved upon Thursday's record close by 32.34 points, to 15,363.52.
The NASDAQ was the best performing index for the week, rising 1.5%. The S&P 500 gained roughly 0.6%, while the Dow shed about 87 points, or 0.2%.
Modest gains for major tech stocks including Apple and Nvidia supported the market indexes. Home builder stocks including Lennar and PulteGroup were under pressure, along with cruise stocks.
American Express was the worst performing component in the Dow as financials stocks struggled.
Non-farm payrolls increased by 235,000 in August, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by Down Jones were expecting 720,000 jobs.
The report marks a significant slowdown from July's revised number of 1.053 million and comes as the delta variant of COVID-19 has led to health restrictions being put back in place in some states and cities.
In a press conference on Friday, President Joe Biden touted the average monthly job gains since he took office and lower weekly jobless claims, and called for more vaccinations and for Congress to pass infrastructure and budget bills.
Biden also said states should consider using federal relief money to extend enhanced unemployment benefits, which expire this week.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys sagged, raising yields to 1.32% from Thursday's 1.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 73 cents to $69.26 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on $19.10 to $1,830.60 U.S. an ounce.