Markets fall as US unemployment jumps

Markets were mostly lower on Friday.

The S&P 500 fell 1.5 percent, the STOXX Europe 600 fell 1.0 percent and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.6 percent.

A report on Friday showed that the US economy lost 701,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent from 3.5 percent in February.

In the euro area, the IHS Markit composite PMI plunged to an all-time low of 29.7 in March from 51.6 in February.

A poll by Reuters shows that economists now think that the global economy will contract 1.2 percent this year compared to a 1.6 percent expansion predicted in a poll three weeks ago.