Oil has also had a bad session, with Brent crude dropping more than 2% to $64.83 per barrel.

That reflects concerns that the global economy is running out of juice.

European stock markets have posted their biggest weekly fall of 2019.

The Stoxx 600 closed down 0.9% today, which means it’s lost around 1% this week. That’s not a major fall, of course, but it may show that the optimism that sent shares fizzing higher this year is fizzling out.

Associated Press have dug into the US jobs report:

The unemployment rate for most major demographic groups fell in February, with the rate for Hispanic and Latino Americans hitting a record low of 4.3%.

It wasn’t entirely good news. More Hispanic and Latino Americans stopped look for work, so they weren’t classified as unemployed. The government counts people as unemployed only if they are actively looking for a job. When fewer people seek a job, the unemployment rate often declines.

The New York Times’s Ben Casselman has spotted another concern -- the unemployment rate for black Americans has risen.

The pound is ending the week on the wrong foot, dropping almost one eurocent to just below €1.16 tonight.

Brexit anxiety is weighing on sterling again, with no sign of a breakthrough between the the UK and the EU before the second Meaningful Vote on Theresa May’s deal.

Earlier today, May urge the EU to make concessions to get an agreement over the line.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier has since hit back, saying the Brussels doesn’t want to get into a ‘blame game’.

Barnier added that the UK can choose between a Northern Ireland-only backstop if a trade deal isn’t agreed, or one covering the whole UK. However, May has rejected the former option in the past, while parliament isn’t happy with being locked into the latter option.

Investors should keep a close eye on the US economy for further signs of economic weakness, says Ian Forrest, investment research analyst at The Share Centre.

Although the US has been in good economic shape for some there have been some small signs of weakness in recent data. Employment data is a lagging indicator but latest jobs data may be caused by one-off factors and investors should wait for further information to see if a trend develops.

It does add to growing signs of a slowdown in global growth following news from China and the ECB’s decision to restart its economic stimulus this week.

Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic are solidly in the red right now.

The US Dow Jones down 150 points (-0.6%) and Britain’s FTSE 100 is off 42 points (also -0.6%, a pleasing symmetry).

Other European markets are showing deeper losses, as the slowdown in US job creation and the 20% decline in Chinese exports looms over markets.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, says the Chinese trade data has hurt mining stocks.

The week is set to finish on a negative note as a mixture of underwhelming Chinese trade figures and a dreadful headline US non-farm payrolls number weighed on sentiment.

China posted disappointing trade numbers overnight. Exports and imports declined by 20.7% and 4.8% respectively. The poor numbers added weight to the argument that the global economy is cooling down.

Gregory Daco of Oxford Economics also argues that today’s non-farm payroll paints too weak a picture.

He points out that combining January’s excellent report with February’s grim offering gives a more balanced picture, of a maturing jobs market.

Larry Kudlow, the head of president Trump’s national economic council, says we shouldn’t give today’s non-farm payroll too much attention.

The small rise in job creation is “an absolute fluke’, he insist, pinning the blame on the weather, the Federal shutdown, the way workers and non-workers are classified.....

Instead of focusing on the meagre 20,000 jobs increase, Kudlow points to the “terrific wage gains”, with earnings up 3.4% year-on year.

Plus, with unemployment down to 3.8%, there are plenty of signs of a “very healthy economy” he tells Bloomberg.

Before anyone panics too much, several experts are suggesting that the jobs report is a one-off.

Jared Bernstein, formerly chief economic advisor to vice-president Joe Biden, has tweeted that occasional ‘outliers’ aren’t uncommon in the non-farm payroll:

Heather Long of the Washington Post also thinks it could be a blip:

Ben Casselman of the New York Times blames the weather [several US cities suffered bitter cold and heavy snow]

The slowdown in US job creation between January and February is one of the biggest swings ever:

(In June 2010, the non-farm payroll shrank by 125,000 after growing by 433,000 in May. So today’s figures could have been worse....)

There is some good news in February’s jobs report -- wage growth has picked up.

Average hourly earnings rose by 0.4% month-on-month, up from January’s 0.1%. That pushed average earnings up by 3.4% year-on-year, up from 3.1%.

The jobs report also shows that several sectors shed jobs in February:

• 31,000 jobs were lost in construction last month
• 32,000 jobs were lost at goods-producing firms
• 6,000 retail jobs were cut

However, services sector employment jumped by 57,000.

Financial experts are reeling from the unexpectedly weak jobs report:

Despite the extremely weak jobs number, America’s unemployment rate has actually fallen again to just 3.8%, from 3.9% last month.

Norway’s finance minister has confirmed that major energy companies such as BP and Shell won’t be affected by the new ban on investments through the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund.

Speaking on Bloomberg, Siv Jensen argues that these integrated companies are spending more on renewable energy technologies, and can play an important role in a low-emissions future.

Jensen says:

We see that the investments are going up. It’s an interesting market and it would be sad if the pension fund could not invest in them in the future.

She also denied that a “political compromise” had prevented Norway from a more sweeping ban on energy stocks, insisting that the decision was based on expert advice.

European stock markets have dropped deeper into the red as lunchtime arrives in the City.

The FTSE 100 is now down almost 1%, as global growth worries hit stocks. BP and Royal Dutch Shell are among the fallers (even though they may not be directly hit by Norway’s energy move, as they’re ‘integrated’ energy firms).

Catherine Howarth, chief executive of campaigning group ShareAction, says Norway’s decision is part of a wider trend, as investors hang up on the fossil fuel industry.

“Norway’s announcement is further evidence that investors are growing increasingly dissatisfied with oil exploration and production companies.

Institutional investors are withdrawing their capital from oil and gas companies on the grounds that quicker-than-expected growth in clean energy and associated regulation is making oil and gas business models highly vulnerable.

This announcement will put pressure on investors to ramp up their engagement with integrated oil majors ahead of the AGM season.”

Green party MP Caroline Lucas has hailed Norway’s move:

Here’s more reaction to Norway’s decision to divest from ‘pure play’ oil and gas firms:

Norway’s decision feels like a landmark victory for climate change campaigners.

However, it appears that its sovereign wealth fund will still be able to hold some energy assets, but not firms focused purely on finding and exploiting fossil fuels.

Bloomberg says:

Norway took a half step toward divesting oil and gas stocks in its wealth fund, saying it approved selling pure exploration companies while sparing the biggest integrated producers.

Shares in energy companies have fallen, following Norway’s decision to remove oil and gas producers, and explorers, from its $1tn wealth fund.

The 20% tumble in Chinese exports comes just days after Beijing cut its growth target for 2019.

Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at www.cityindex.co.uk, says anxiety over China is weighing on the markets today:

It’s the morning after and the FTSE is struggling. The London gauge is down 0.7% after the ECB’s grim assessment of the state of the European economy yesterday and the index’s chance of recovery has been dealt a further blow by data pointing to an increasingly serious slowdown in China.

The chance of an economic turnaround in Europe is looking increasingly unlikely if China continues to slow down. The country has already lowered its growth target for 2019 this week to between 6% and 6.5%, the lowest level in almost 30 years, and this morning’s data added to the unsettling picture showing that February exports from the Asian powerhouse plummeted by 20%.

Although February is traditionally the weakest month for China’s foreign trade because the country closes down for a week during the local New Year festivities, this year’s decline has been exacerbated both by a slowdown in the domestic economy and the ongoing trade dispute with the US.

Hopes that the US and China will reach a trade deal have also take a knock.

Overnight, the US ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, revealed that there’s still no date for a proposed summit between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. That could dash hopes of a meeting - and a trade deal - before the end of this month.

The FT says:

The two sides had been discussing a meeting at Mar-a-Lago on March 27 or March 28, immediately following Mr Xi’s planned trip to Europe. Those dates are now off.

In London, shares in struggling department store chain Debenhams have jumped after retail magnate Mike Ashley launched a bid to seize control.

Ashley stunned the City last night by declaring that he wants to be appointed to Debenhams board to run the company, and would step down from his current role running Sports Direct.

Sports Direct owns almost 30% of Debenhams, which is fighting to restructure its finances in the face of sliding falling sales. Ashley’s plan is to oust the entire board, apart from finance director, Rachel Osborne, and steer the business himself.

Debenhams says it’s “disappointed” to see Mike Ashley parking his tanks on their lawn, adding that discussions to address its funding needs are “well advanced”.

But Neil Wilson of Markets.com reckons Sports Direct will succeed in taking control, one way or another...

As far as the restructuring of its balance sheet goes, lenders will want to know quickly what the outcome is, what the strategy is and what management team they should be dealing with.

One wonders why Ashley does not simply go the obvious route and bid for Debenhams and combine into the House of Fraser rump. The rationale for tying these companies together is clearly compelling. If the coup fails, he will surely launch a takeover. If it succeeds he will be able to tie up the operational side and shore up finances from his own resources. Whether this boardroom coup fails or not, there is surely only one outcome from all of this: Mike Ashley will get what he wants.

Analyst and journalist Louise Cooper is also concerned by the Chinese trade data:

Many experts are blaming the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing for the slide in Chinese trade:

Sabrina Khanniche, senior economist at Pictet Asset Management, blames weaker foreign demand for the slide in German factory orders.

European stock markets have also been hit by the gloomy trade data from China.

The FTSE 100 is down 47 points, or 0.6%, with mining stocks among the top fallers (they’ll suffer if global growth stumbles).

Across Europe, nearly every sector has fallen. Carmakers, who are also relying on China’s economy holding up, are the biggest fallers.

News that China’s exports plunged by a fifth last month went down extremely badly on the Shanghai stock markets.

The benchmark CSI 300 has slumped by 4%, their biggest fall of the year, as traders fretted that China’s economy is weakening.

Even stripping out the impact of the Lunar new year, China’s economy has weakened clearly this year.

If you combine January and February’s trade data, Chinese exports are down 4.6% year-on-year while imports are down 3.1%.

Sales to the US have absolutely tanked - down 38% in February alone - as Chinese firms are hurt by US tariffs.

This chart shows the scale of China’s export tumble: