Wall Street faces worst week this year

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for its worst week this year on Friday after a disappointing jobs report heightened concerns that the economic recovery is heading for a slowdown.

Employers decreased hiring for the third straight month, adding 115,000 workers in April, well below forecasts of 170,000 and even below the depressed expectations of traders that had fallen during the week after a series of softer economic data.

Investors were also cautious ahead of elections in France and Greece over the weekend as European policymakers struggle to bring an end to their ongoing debt crisis and electorates rebel against pinching austerity measures.

"People are long liquidation after the data we had this morning and they will probably stay liquidated until we get through the weekend," said Frank Lesh, a futures analyst and broker at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago.

Energy shares were the worst performers, with the S&P energy index down 2.1 percent on fears a worsening economy would sap demand for energy. U.S. crude oil fell 4 percent, dipping below $100 a barrel for the first time since February.

Utilities , considered a defensive play, was the only S&P 500 sector in positive territory, up 0.3 percent.

Such a sharp retreat will come as a blow to investors who had been hoping the S&P 500 would break out to new recovery highs as the index struggles to make a convincing move above what appears to be strong resistance at the 1,400 level.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 178.50 points, or 1.35 percent, at 13,028.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 23.00 points, or 1.65 percent, at 1,368.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 60.06 points, or 1.99 percent, at 2,964.24.

In the oil sector, Chevron Corp dropped 2 percent to $103.82 while Exxon Mobil Corp was off 1 percent to $84.77. Both were among the top losers in the Dow, along with other big names in economically sensitive sectors.

With this week's retreat, much of the S&P's gains from the move off the April lows at 1,357 have been erased. The market has found support at that approximate level in the past but a breach there could take it back to 1,340.

First Solar Inc fell 6 percent to $17.01 and was the biggest decliner on the Nasdaq 100 . The U.S. solar panel maker posted an unexpected quarterly loss on Thursday, prompting analysts to lower their price targets.

On Friday, surveys showed the euro zone economy worsened markedly in April and suggested a recession may be deeper than previously thought. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 1.6 percent.