Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, with investors cautious ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole. The Dow Jones fell 0.3%, the Nasdaq slid 0.3%, and the S&P 500 lost 0.4%. Utilities and consumer stocks declined, while the Energy sector advanced. Walmart’s earnings miss weighed on the retail sector, with shares falling 4.5%. Initial jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 16 were 235,000, up by 11,000. Continuing claims rose to 1,972,000. Existing home sales for July increased to 4.01 million units. Investors await Powell’s speech for clues on Fed policy.

Read more at Zacks Investment Research: Stock Market News for Aug 22, 2025 – August 22, 2025