US stocks sink on rate hike worries; Nasdaq plunges 3.3%

US investors dumped major technology stocks Friday in a heavy selloff spurred by fresh jobs market data that could support another interest rate rise by the Federal Reserve.

Amazon, Netflix, Adobe, Priceline, Twitter and Facebook all shed more than five percent to pull the Nasdaq Composite Index back to levels last seen in October 2014.

Also taking a beating were Dow blue chips like Nike, down 5.0 percent, and McDonald's, losing 4.4 percent, amid worries that they will also be hit by the slowing global economy.

At the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 211.75 points (1.29 percent) at 16,204.83.

The broader S&P 500 lost 35.43 (1.85 percent) at 1,880.02, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 143.42 (3.25 percent) to 4,363.14.

The Labor Department's January jobs report showed a slowdown in hiring but the US jobless rate fell to 4.9 percent and wage growth picked up modestly -- both data points that support the Fed further tightening policy in the coming months.

The numbers "could underpin the Fed's potential decision to continuing raising rates in 2016," said Briefing.com.

"In response to this uncertainty over the potential future of the fed funds rate, equity markets have sold off."