(RTTNews) - Stocks continue to slump in late morning trading on Friday, as investors digest a dismal employment report released by the Labor Department. The sell off on Wall Street is extending the substantial decline seen in the previous session.

Housing stocks are turning in some of the worst performances, a day after two homebuilders reported sluggish quarterly results. The Philadelphia Housing Index is down 4.1 percent. Steel, wireless and railroad stocks are sharply lower as well.

On the other hand, a 22.7 percent jump by UST Inc. (UST) is contributing to a 3.2 percent gain by the Amex Tobacco Index. According to the New York Times, UST may be in talks to be acquired by Altria (MO). Disk drive stocks are also seeing notable gains, boosted by reports that SanDisk (SNDK) may be acquired as well.

The major averages saw further selling pressure in recent trading, although they have moved well off of their intraday lows in the past few minutes. The Dow is currently down 96.32 at 11,091.91, the Nasdaq is down 32.27 at 2.226.77 and the S&P 500 is down 14.20 at 1,222.63.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Releases, USA.

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