Stock Market Today: Stocks Extend Slide as Investors Await Jackson Hole Speech

Data by YCharts.

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) slipped 25.6 points, or 0.4%, to 6,370.17 on Thursday, marking its fifth straight daily decline. Losses were broad, with weakness across technology and cyclical sectors, as investors grew cautious ahead of key central bank commentary.

The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) also moved lower, dropping 72 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 21,100.31. Tech stocks continued to face pressure amid uncertainty over how the Federal Reserve will balance slowing labor market signals with still-sticky inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) joined the decline, falling 152.81 points, or 0.3%, to 44,785.50. Financials and industrials slipped alongside technology, leaving all three major benchmarks in negative territory.

Looking ahead, attention is squarely on the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak on Friday. Markets are searching for clarity on whether policymakers will move toward easing or maintain a cautious stance given the mixed economic backdrop. Powell's remarks could prove pivotal in shaping expectations for the September meeting and the broader trajectory of rates.

Market data sourced from Google Finance and Yahoo! Finance on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025.

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Daily Stock News has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. This article was generated with GPT-5, OpenAI's large-scale language generation model and has been reviewed by The Motley Fool's AI quality control systems. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.