Wall Street Slips Again as Walmart Weighs on Dow, Investors Eye Powell

Stocks couldn’t shake off their losing streak Thursday. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, marking its fifth straight day in the red, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 168 points (0.4%). The Nasdaq Composite also dropped 0.4%.

The drag came largely from Walmart, which tumbled more than 4% after its quarterly earnings missed Wall Street’s expectations — the first miss since May 2022. The retailer’s sales were strong, but rising costs and tariffs cut into profits.

Investors are holding their breath ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech Friday at the central bank’s annual Jackson Hole gathering. Traders are betting on a nearly 80% chance of a rate cut in September, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. But Fed minutes from July showed officials remain cautious, with some still worried about inflation.

“Valuations are stretched, and expectations are high heading into Powell’s speech,” said Rick Gardner, CIO at RGA Investments. “If he doesn’t hint at a cut, investors may start trimming risk.”

The week’s slump has been fueled by profit-taking in big tech, including Nvidia, Palantir, and Meta. The S&P 500 is down 0.8% this week, while the Nasdaq has lost 2.1%. The Dow, helped by more defensive names, is flat for the week.

Movers of the Day:

• Coty plunged more than 20% after posting a surprise quarterly loss and warning of a weak first half of 2026.
• Paramount Skydance jumped 15% on strong streaming results.
• Xpeng surged 14% after its CEO bought millions of shares and the EV maker reported better-than-expected revenue.

Markets are jittery heading into the weekend. Treasury yields inched higher after data showed US business activity picked up in August — good for growth but another sign inflation pressures remain sticky.

For now, traders are bracing for Powell. His Jackson Hole remarks could decide whether Wall Street’s late-summer slump deepens — or finally turns around.

CNBC, the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, and Investor’s Business Daily contributed to this report.