04:29 PM EDT, 10/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes closed mostly lower Thursday, while oil surged amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, as markets awaited the official jobs report for September.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 42,011.6, and the S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 5,699.9. The Nasdaq Composite was little changed at 17,918.5. Consumer discretionary saw the steepest decline among sectors, while energy led the gainers.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged 5.4% to $73.91 a barrel. Israel has targeted Hezbollah's intelligence headquarters in new airstrikes launched in Beirut Thursday, CNN reported.

On Tuesday, Iran reportedly carried out a missile attack on Israel in retaliation to the recent killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian commander in Lebanon. This triggered concerns that Israel could target Iran's oil facilities, ING said in a Thursday report. Such a move could push oil prices "significantly higher" depending on the extent of the attack, the firm wrote.

In response to a question by reporters whether the US would support Israel striking Iranian oil facilities, President Joe Biden said Thursday "we're in discussion of that."

"There's nothing going to happen today," he added.

The US two-year yield rose 7.2 basis points to 3.71%, while the 10-year rate increased 6.8 basis points to 3.85%.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are expected to show Friday that the US economy added 150,000 nonfarm jobs last month, which would mark an acceleration from a 142,000 gain posted for August, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In economic news, weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US rose more than expected, according to government data released Thursday.

A drop in continuing claims in recent weeks signals a "solid increase" for nonfarm payrolls, Jefferies said in a note.

US-based employers cut 72,821 jobs last month, down 4% from August and up 53% from September 2023, according to Challenger Gray & Christmas.

Two surveys painted a mixed picture of the US services sector for September, with the Institute for Supply Management's data showing that activity expanded more than expected, while S&P Global ( SPGI ) indicated a deceleration in growth.

On Tuesday, data from the ISM and S&P Global ( SPGI ) showed the US manufacturing sector remained in contraction territory last month amid soft demand and declining employment.

In company news, Constellation Brands' ( STZ ) fiscal Q2 earnings beat market estimates, while revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations as the company booked a $2.25 billion noncash goodwill impairment loss in its wine and spirits business. It shares dropped 4.7%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500.

Tesla (TSLA) was among the worst performers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, down 3.4%. The electric vehicle maker removed its most affordable Model 3 sedan from its website's US order page in a signal that recent tariffs on Chinese imports present a "double edge sword" for US automakers, Wedbush Securities said in a note to clients.

Vistra ( VST ) shares rose 5.7%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500, as RBC raised its price target on the stock to $141 from $105, while maintaining its outperform rating.

Gold advanced 0.3% to $2,677.40 per troy ounce, while silver rose 1.3% to $32.33 per ounce.