5th Straight Loss for S&P 500

Stocks fell broadly on Thursday, with the S&P 500 sliding for a fifth day in a row, as traders look to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 152.81 points to conclude Thursday at 44,785.50. The broader index sank 25.61 points to 6,370.17. The NASDAQ lost 72.55 points to 21,100.31. The S&P 500 is down 0.8% this week, while the NASDAQ has lost about 2.1%. The 30-stock Dow is roughly flat week to date. Walmart shares dipped more than 4% after the retailer missed the Street’s expectations for quarterly earnings, a first since May 2022. The company reported sales that surpassed estimates, however. The market this week has been pressured by heavy bout of tech selling. Investors took in profits from high-flying names including Nvidia, Palantir and Meta Platforms Investors are looking to hear from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday at the central bank’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where he could offer insights into the path of interest rates. Fed funds futures are pricing in a nearly 74% likelihood of the central bank cutting interest rates at its next policy gathering in September. Minutes from Fed’s July meeting showed policymakers are worried about the state of the labor market and inflation, though most agreed that it was too soon to lower interest rates. Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman dissented against holding rates steady, marking the first time two board members have done so since 1993. Prices for 10-year Treasury fell Thursday, hiking yields to 4.33% from Wednesday’s 4.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices gained 70 cents to $63.41 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices dropped $4.80 at $3,383.50 U.S. an ounce.