Stock Futures Slide on Weak Jobs News

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures were plunging Monday, pointing to a fourth straight session of losses for the broad market as investors caught up with Friday's disheartening job news and stood by for the kickoff of earnings season.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were plummeting 117 points, or 139 points below fair value, at 12,861.

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 14.9 points, or 18.5 points below fair value, at 1375. Futures for the Nasdaq were easing 27 points, or 31.9 points below fair value, at 2727. The stock market was closed Friday in observance of the Good Friday holiday.

The government announced Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased 120,000 in March, far short of the 200,000 gain that economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had been expecting. The unemployment rate fell to 8.2% from 8.3% in February. The market expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 8.3%.

The average workweek for private-sector employees slipped by 0.1 hour to 34.5 hours in March. Average hourly earnings rose by 5 cents, or 0.2%, to $23.39.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said employment increased in manufacturing, food services and health care but fell in retail.

Private-sector payrolls increased by 121,000, while government employment was virtually unchanged.

No major domestic economic data were scheduled for release on Monday.

All eyes will turn to first-quarter earnings season Tuesday, which kicks off after the bell with results from Alcoa(AA) . The aluminum company is the first Dow component to report each quarter.

European stock exchanges were closed on Monday, as were the markets in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Africa. Japan's Nikkei Average fell 1.5% as China's inflation rate rose to 3.6% in March and a strengthening yen hurt shares of exporters.