He will be speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at an annual conference of central bankers that\u2019s been home to big policy announcements in the past.<\/p>\n
A cut in interest rates would be the first of the year, and it would give investment prices and the economy a boost by potentially making it cheaper to borrow to buy cars or equipment. But it could also risk worsening inflation.<\/p>\n
The Fed has been hesitant to cut interest rates this year out of fear that President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs could push inflation higher, but a surprisingly weak report on job growth earlier this month suddenly made the job market a bigger worry. Trump, meanwhile, has angrily pushed for cuts to interest rates, often insulting Powell while doing so.<\/p>\n
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages, rose to 4.32 per cent from 4.29 per cent. The two-year Treasury, which moves more on expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with short-term interest rates, climbed to 3.78 per cent from 3.74 per cent.<\/p>\n
On Wall Street, Walmart dropped even though it reported encouraging growth in revenue during the latest quarter and raised its forecast for profit over its full fiscal year.<\/p>\n
Analysts said the market\u2019s expectations were high coming into the report. The Bentonville, Arkansas, company\u2019s stock came into the day with a gain of 13.5 per cent for the year so far, more than the rest of the market.<\/p>\n
Big Tech stocks are under even more pressure to deliver bigger profits amid criticism that their stock prices ran too high, too fast and have become too expensive because of the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology.<\/p>\n
Several AI superstar stocks have swung sharply this week, taking some shine off their skyscraping surges for the year, because of such criticism. But they held a bit steadier on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Palantir Technologies, which at one point on Wednesday was on track to fall more than 9 per cent for a second straight day before paring its loss, rose 0.1 per cent. Nvidia, the chip company that\u2019s become the poster child of the AI boom, edged down 0.2 per cent.<\/p>\n
Coty tumbled 21.6 per cent after the beauty products company reported a loss for the latest quarter, when analysts expected a slight profit. The company, whose brands include CoverGirl and Joop!, said uncertainty about tariffs and the economy are making retailers cautious in their orders.<\/p>\n
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On the winning side of Wall Street was Nordson, which makes products and systems used for precision dispensing and other things. It delivered profit and revenue for the latest quarter that topped analysts\u2019 expectations, and its stock rose 3 per cent.<\/p>\n
All told, the S&P 500 slipped 25.61 points to 6,370.17. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152.81 to 44,785.50, and the Nasdaq composite sank 72.55 to 21,100.31.<\/p>\n
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across much of Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n
Germany, Europe\u2019s largest economy, saw its DAX return 0.1 per cent after US and European Union officials offered a framework for their trade deal.<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 per cent after a survey showed Japan\u2019s factory activity contracted again in August.<\/p>\n
AP<\/p>\n