Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 market review

CHRISTOPHER REYES
BUSINESS EDITOR
@cdrey

For the second week in a row, stocks ended at a loss as investors continued to act with caution due to geopolitical unrest and economic uncertainty.

Several economic indicators scared investors early in the week. Consumer confidence was in its biggest decline since October, according to a report from The Conference Board on Tuesday.

Wednesday saw a sharp decline in stocks, brought about by negative reports of U.S. factory activity.

The German manufacturing sector also declined, the first time it has done so in over a year. Both caused investor sentiment to decline.

American markets were brought down by news from Asian markets. Protesters in Hong Kong are demanding political autonomy from China, sparking investor worries throughout Asia.

The Ebola virus also had an effect on stocks. Airline stocks fell as news was released that an infected man flew from Liberia to the United States.

Stocks improved at the end of the week with the release of September payroll figures. Employers added 248,000 jobs in September, causing a jump in stock prices early on Friday. The job growth was higher than expected and drops the unemployment rate dropped below 6 percent, the lowest it has been since 2008. A revision higher of August payroll figures also improved investor sentiment.