Mumbai, Sept. 8 -- The Dow slid 220.43 points (0.5%) to 45,400.86, the S&P 500 fell 20.58 points (0.3%) to 6,481.50 and the Nasdaq edged down 7.31 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,700.39.

Wall Street saw an early downturn as traders reacted to a disappointing Labor Department report on U.S. job growth. Non-farm payrolls rose by only 22,000 in August, far below expectations, following a revised gain of 79,000 in July. Additionally, June's data was revised from a 14,000 increase to a 13,000 decline, highlighting weaker labor market momentum.

The Labor Department said the unemployment rate inched up by 4.3% in August from 4.2 in July, in line with economist estimates. Buying interest waned shortly after the start of trading, ...