Emerging stocks fall to 4-month low on weak data, bird flu threat

Emerging stocks fell to a four-month low as US jobs data missed forecasts and the threat of a bird flu epidemic sent Chinese airlines tumbling. The MSCI BRIC Index dropped 10 percent from this year's peak.

China Southern Airlines Co sank 8.5 percent in Hong Kong, while Hyundai Motor Co led losses in Seoul as the risk of conflict with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea spurred capital outflows. Russian shares dropped for a third week as OAO Mobile TeleSystems slumped on concern the country's largest mobile provider will lose market share. Brazil's Bovespa index erased an earlier decline as utility Cia Paranaense de Energia jumped 8.3 percent.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.9 percent to 1008.13 in New York, extending its weekly slump to 2.6 percent. Stocks fell on data showing United States' employers hired fewer workers than forecast in March, while international investors sold the most South Korean equities since May. Six people have died from a new strain of bird flu in China.