Stocks slid sharply Friday but managed slight weekly gains as crude oil breached $104 a barrel and the February jobs report underlined worries that earnings growth might not be keeping up with rising energy costs. It February nonfarm and private payrolls unexpectedly increased by 192,000 and 222,000 respectively, so unemployment rate slid to a 22-month low of 8.9% from 9.0% in January.
Wal-Mart Stores ended up 0.2%, a day after hiking its dividend 21% on strong quarterly earnings.
Tech sector was among the worst performing sectors.
