S&P 500 fell for the fifth straight day ahead of Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech

The US stock market fell again on Thursday, dragging major indexes deeper into red territory as investors brace for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks this Friday at the central bank’s annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, closing at 6,370.17, its fifth straight day of losses. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.34% to end at 21,100.31, and the Dow Jones dropped 152.81 points, or 0.34%, closing at 44,785.50.

Powell’s Friday appearance could bring a signal on what’s next for monetary policy, especially as inflation pressures stay hot. Traders on CME’s FedWatch tool have priced in a 74% chance that the Fed will lower rates at its September meeting.

Retail investors pull back as tech giants lose steam

For the first time in two months, retail investors flipped to the sell side. Data compiled by JPMorgan strategists revealed that mom-and-pop investors offloaded roughly $140 million in tech stocks just in the past week. That’s a big reversal after weeks of daily buying averaging over $1 billion a day.

The pullback comes as megacap tech stocks, the heavy hitters like Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon, all slid through the week. Their losses were enough to pull the entire market down. The S&P 500 lost 0.8%, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.1% during the same stretch. Palantir, a darling among retail traders, tumbled more than 13% over the week.

Tom Essaye, founder of The Sevens Report, wrote that tech had been carrying the market for years, but valuations had gotten way out of hand. “Investors have benefited greatly from the impressive performance of the tech sector, not only so far in 2025, but also over the past several years,” Tom said. He didn’t hold back about Palantir, calling it a perfect example of inflated expectations: “Palantir (PLTR), a stock that is the best performer in the S&P 500 YTD, also trades at a quasi-absurd 212X forward earnings.”

Even with this retreat, retail investors haven’t ditched the market entirely. They’re stepping away from the overheated tech names, but they haven’t left the game. They’re just not buying blindly anymore.

Trump increases pressure on Powell ahead of Fed speech

As Powell prepares to speak, pressure is coming from more than just Wall Street. President Donald Trump has been relentlessly criticizing Powell and the Fed, pushing hard for lower rates. That part’s familiar. But now it’s gotten personal.

Earlier this summer, the White House went after the Fed over its massive renovation project at its Washington, D.C. headquarters. Around that same time, Trump floated the idea of removing Powell altogether, but eventually backed off.

This week, Trump’s administration turned its attention to Fed Governor Lisa Cook, accusing her of mortgage fraud involving two government-backed loans. It’s a shift from monetary complaints to personal accusations. All of it puts Powell in a political storm heading into his Jackson Hole remarks.

Despite the noise, Powell is expected to keep his tone steady. That’s been his style for more than seven years. Michael Arone, the chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors, said Powell stays focused on the Fed’s responsibilities:

“He’s done a good job in terms of keeping the Fed’s independence, ignoring the noise and some of the questions he gets, and keeping it focused on the data dependency and the Fed’s dual mandate.”

Michael added that Powell “has taken the high road as it relates to the Fed’s independence and some of the pressure he’s clearly getting from the Trump administration.”

Even if Powell doesn’t name names in his Friday speech, there’s a chance he nods to the chaos. The last few months have put the Fed under intense scrutiny, both from political attacks and from the market itself. The Fed chair may use the stage to push back subtly, without breaking from his usual calm public face.

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