Investing.com - Fears an escalating Ukraine crisis will escalate even further overshadowed an upbeat U.S. April jobs report and sent stocks falling on Friday.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 fell 0.28%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.13%, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.09%.
Geopolitical concerns in Europe eclipsed robust U.S. jobs numbers and dampened spirits on Wall Street earlier.
The U.N. Security Council met at Russia's request to discuss the Ukraine crisis on Friday, while separately, U.S. President Barack Obama earlier threatened to slap fresh sanctions on Russia if Moscow disrupts Ukrainian elections scheduled for May 25.
Ukraine's army and a pro-Russian rebels continued to skirmish earlier, stoking fears that the crisis will develop and drag the U.S. deeper into the standoff.
Elsewhere, the Labor Department reported earlier that the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in April, beating expectations for a 210,000 increase. March's figure was revised up to a 203,000 rise from a previously estimated 192,000 gain.
The private sector added 273,000 last month, more than an expected 210,000 increase. In March, the number of private sector jobs was revised up to a 202,000 increase a previously estimated 192,000 rise.
The report also showed that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in April, from 6.7% the previous month, compared to expectations for a fall 6.6%.
Still, concerns that long-term unemployment will remain a problem for the U.S. economy tarnished the otherwise positive jobs report, as the headline jobless rate fell in part due to a drop in the labor force, a sign that many who have been out of work for a long time quit looking for jobs and thus are no longer considered part of the labor pool.
Separately, data showed that U.S. factory orders rose 1.1% in March, less than the expected 1.4% gain, after a 1.5% rise in February, whose figure was revised down from a previously estimated 1.6% increase.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), up 1.16%, Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), up 0.94%, and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), up 0.62%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), down 2.32%, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), down 1.30%, and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), down 1.20%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished largely lower.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.84%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.65%, while Germany's DAX fell 0.49%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 0.20%.