Wall Street\u2019s main indexes fell on Thursday as investors feared potentially hawkish remarks by the Federal Reserve chair on Friday that could spark volatility, while big-box retailer Walmart\u2019s quarterly results dampened sentiment.<\/p>\n
All eyes are on the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium where Fed Chair Jerome Powell<\/a> is scheduled to speak on Friday at 10 a.m. ET. Traders will closely monitor his speech for any clues on U.S. interest rate cuts in September following recent job market weakness.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still have roughly 80% likelihood that the Fed will cut interest rates, but that is now being brought into question. So that is, in a sense, being worked into investors\u2019 forecasts,\u201d said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. \u201cInvestors are saying, \u2018You know what? Let\u2019s take some profits right now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Traders have pared down bets on a 25-basis-point interest rate cut in September to 79% from 99.9% last week, according to data compiled by LSEG.<\/p>\n Thin August trading volumes are likely to magnify<\/a> any market moves following Powell\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.28 billion shares on Thursday, compared with the 17.08 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.<\/p>\n \u201cJitters over what\u2019s going to transpire tomorrow at Jackson Hole is certainly weighing on risk appetite a little bit with Chair Powell\u2019s speech,\u201d said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial. \u201cThere could be a decent selloff if we get a more hawkish than expected event.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple policymakers, including Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack<\/a>, Atlanta President Raphael Bostic<\/a> and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid<\/a>, have struck a cautious tone and acknowledged the need to stay data-dependent.<\/p>\n The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152.81 points, or 0.34%, to 44,785.50, the S&P 500 lost 25.61 points, or 0.40%, to 6,370.17 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 72.54 points, or 0.34%, to 21,100.31.<\/p>\n A private report<\/a> indicated business activity picked up pace in August, reflecting a complex environment for the U.S. central bank, which will deliberate on interest rates next month. Another report also showed July sales of existing U.S. homes<\/a> unexpectedly ticked higher.<\/p>\n Yields<\/a> on U.S. Treasuries rose following the reports, also putting pressure on stocks.<\/p>\n Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were down, led by consumer staples, which declined 1.18% after Walmart raised<\/a> its fiscal year sales and profit, driven by strong demand from shoppers across all income levels, but missed quarterly profit estimates and flagged higher costs from tariffs.<\/p>\n Shares of the retailer tumbled 4.5%. The spotlight was on reports from retailers<\/a>, including Target and Home Depot, this week as investors gauged the impact of U.S. tariffs on consumer spending.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a bit of a mixed picture within the consumer space and there\u2019s uncertainty in the economy \u2014 whether that\u2019s the job market or whether that\u2019s prices (increasing) from a tariff pass-through,\u201d said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.<\/p>\n A technology stocks selloff earlier this week appeared to lose some steam, but Nvidia, Meta, Amazon.com and Advanced Micro Devices remained weaker.<\/p>\n The selloff signaled investor fears that tech stocks, which have soared from April lows, are overvalued, while Washington\u2019s growing interference<\/a> in the sector has also raised alarms.<\/p>\n