NEW YORK, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday ahead of the release of September's payrolls report, as ongoing tensions in the Middle East continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 184.93 points, or 0.44 percent, to 42,011.59. The S&P 500 sank 9.60 points, or 0.17 percent, to 5,699.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 6.65 points, or 0.04 percent, to 17,918.48.

Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with consumer discretionary and materials leading the laggards by losing 1.28 percent and 1.15 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and technology led the gainers by going up 1.58 percent and 0.60 percent, respectively.

October has seen a turbulent start in the markets, with escalating conflicts in the Middle East dampening investors' enthusiasm. Earlier this week, stocks fell sharply following Iran's missile attack on Israel, and now investors are bracing for more uncertainty as Israel launched a ground offensive into Lebanon.

U.S. crude futures surged by more than 5 percent, extending their week-to-date gain to over 8 percent as geopolitical concerns drove oil prices higher. Meanwhile, weekly jobless claims were slightly above economists' expectations, hinting at the labor market's condition ahead of Friday's key payrolls report.

Janus Henderson's equities portfolio manager Jeremiah Buckley noted that while economic indicators like the upcoming jobs report are a key focus for equities in the short term, the underlying market fundamentals remain robust enough to absorb any potential softness in the data.

"We can't focus too much on one month of job reports, but the trend is moving in the right direction from an inflation standpoint and a labor market balance standpoint," Buckley said Thursday. "We continue to believe the fundamental economic backdrop continues to be positive."

On the corporate side, Tesla shares continued to decline, falling over 3 percent after Reuters reported that the electric vehicle maker had stopped taking U.S. online orders for its cheapest Model 3, following disappointing delivery numbers. Enditem

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