U.S. stocks closed lower Friday as Wall Street digested a weaker-than-expected employment report and kept an eye on falling oil prices. In U.S. economic news, the economy added 156,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.0 percent. Economists had expected 176,000 new jobs and the jobless rate to hold at 4.9 percent. The total was a decline from the upwardly revised 167,000 jobs in August (compared to the original number of 151,000). Wholesale inventories fell more than previously reported in August. The dollar slipped against a basket of currencies. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery dropped 63 cents to $49.81 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures climbed $2 to $1,255 per ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 16, or 0.09 percent, to 18,250. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6, or 0.3 percent, to 2,153. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index declined 18, or 0.35 percent, to 5,288.
