Strong job reports on both sides of the border fuelled investor fear that a rate hike is on the horizon, sending markets tumbling Friday. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 145.21 points to 8,282.48.

The U.S. economy produced 288,000 jobs in April, greatly exceeding economist expectations of 155,000. It was also the eighth straight month of employment gains. Meanwhile, the jobless rate slipped to 5.6% from 5.7% in March.

Here at home, the employment news was also positive. Statistics Canada reported 50,000 new full-time jobs were created in April, pushing the unemployment rate down to 7.3% from 7.5% in March.

The fixation on interest rates has undone the potentially positive impact of a slew of solid quarterly corporate reports. Rate-sensitive stocks such as those of the big banks saw losses today. Royal Bank shed 95¢ to $59.70 and Scotiabank lost 77¢, falling to $34.75.

First-quarter revenue and earnings more than doubled to $30.1 million at Dundee Bancorp Inc. after a major acquisition by its Dundee Wealth Management Inc. subsidiary. However, its shares edged 5¢ lower to $26.85.

The energy sector fell, despite an increase in the price of crude oil past US$40 a barrel before declining slightly. EnCana dropped 85¢ to $55.60 and Husky Energy moved 59¢ lower to $26.91.

The tech sector was mainly lower with BCE Emergis shares down 80¢ or 13.45% to $5.15 after its parent company, BCE Inc., announced that it’s selling its controlling stake in its electronic commerce subsidiary for $355.9 million. Research in Motion rose $1.79 to $127.00.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture Exchange fell 37.16 to 1,611.60.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average slid 123.92 points, or 1.21%, to 10,117.34. The S&P 500 Index slipped 15.30 points, or 1.37%, to 1,098.69.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 19.78 points, or 1.02%, to 1,917.96.