NEW YORK, Aug 1, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Wall Street stocks tumbled early Friday after weak US jobs data added to worries about the economy as markets gird for stiffer tariffs on American trading partners.

Major US stock indices were down 1.5 percent or more in early trading after the Labor Department said the US economy added just 73,000 jobs in July while revising lower the figures for May and June.

Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management called the jobs data "unambiguously soft" and indicative of reticence among companies adjusting to a higher tariff bill that is expected to worsen if the United States fails to reach deals soon with key trading partners Canada, Mexico and China.

About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.5 percent at 43,477.54.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.7 percent to 6,231.49, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 2.3 percent to 20,644.16.

Following the jobs data, yields on US Treasury bonds fell sharply as markets price in a weaker US growth outlook and expected cuts in Federal Reserve interest rates.

Futures markets are now pricing in a September Fed cut following the jobs data.

Among individual companies, Amazon fell 7.0 percent despite reporting a 35 percent surge in profits after the company's forecast raised worries about the hit from heavy investments in artificial intelligence.