Powell Fed Meeting: Wall Street Collapse – August 21, 2025
- stock markets experienced a significant downturn on Thursday, August 21, as investors braced for remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole economic symposium.
- The basic consumer goods sector was the weakest performer on the S&P 500, declining 1.2%.
- While the tech sell-off earlier in the week moderated somewhat, shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O), Meta (Meta.o), Amazon.com (AMZN.O), and Advanced Micro Devices (Amd.o) all closed lower.
Wall Street Wobbles as Investors Await Powell’s Jackson Hole Speech
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Market Overview – August 21, 2025
U.S. stock markets experienced a significant downturn on Thursday, August 21, as investors braced for remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole economic symposium. The Nasdaq Composite led the decline, falling 2.4% – its largest three-day loss as April.The S&P 500 also closed lower, down approximately 0.4%, with nine of its eleven sectors ending the day in negative territory.
Sector Performance
The basic consumer goods sector was the weakest performer on the S&P 500, declining 1.2%. Conversely, the energy sector saw gains. Walmart (
WMT.N) experienced a 4.6% drop after reporting missed quarterly profits and increased costs related to customs duties,despite overall sales and profit growth for the fiscal year.
While the tech sell-off earlier in the week moderated somewhat, shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O), Meta (Meta.o), Amazon.com (AMZN.O), and Advanced Micro Devices (Amd.o) all closed lower.
Interest Rates and Economic Data
Traders have significantly reduced expectations for a september rate cut, now pricing in a 74% probability compared to 92% just a week ago, according to CME Fedwatch. This shift reflects growing concerns about the strength of the labor market and the potential for the Federal Reserve to maintain a hawkish stance on monetary policy.
Contributing to these concerns, unemployment benefits in the United States have reached their highest level since June, signaling a potential softening in the labor market. The yield on the 10-year U.S.Treasury note increased to approximately 4.34% on Thursday.
Global Markets
While U.S. markets faltered, the Stoxx 600 remained relatively stable. However, broader market sentiment was influenced by a strengthening dollar and rising crude oil prices, while Bitcoin experienced a drop of over 1.5% and gold also declined.