Wall Street faced a downturn on Thursday as traders exercised caution ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday.

Powell is anticipated to signal a potential rate cut in September, but market sentiment currently favors a smaller 25-basis-point reduction rather than a more substantial 50-basis-point cut.

On Thursday, economic data indicated that U.S. private sector activity surpassed expectations in August, according to the S&P Global flash Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI). The growth was primarily driven by the services sector, which more than compensated for the faster contraction in manufacturing.

Major U.S. equity indices traded lower throughout the session, while the dollar and Treasury yields rebounded after four consecutive days of losses.

The U.S. dollar rose nearly 0.4% against a basket of major currencies, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed six basis points. As a result, bonds fell, with the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) dropping 1.2%.

The energy sector emerged as the day's top performer, buoyed by a more than 2% surge in oil prices. In contrast, natural gas plunged over 6% due to higher-than-expected inventory builds.

Gold also took a hit, declining over 1% and falling below the $2,500 per ounce threshold, weighed down by the strength of the dollar and rising Treasury yields.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell 1% to $60,000, failing to keep up with the Wednesday's bullish momentum, which saw the largest cryptocurrency rise 3.6%.

Thursday's Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was 0.1% lower to $559.92.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) eased 0.1% to $408.78.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) fell 0.4% to $480.73.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) inched 0.2% lower to $215.03.
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) outperformed, by 0.6%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) lagged, down by 0.8%.

Thursday's Stock Movers

• Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) plummeted 12% as the guidance disappointed despite the company reported stronger-than-expected results last quarter.
• Other stocks reacting to corporate earnings were Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM) up 13%; Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) down 1.77%; Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) up 0.36%; Nordson Corp. (NASDAQ:NDSN) up 2.06%, Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE:WSM) down 7%; Viking Holdings Ltd (NYSE:VIK), down 3.81% and BJs Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BJ), down 6.29%.
• Major companies slated to report quarterly results after the close include Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), Workday Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY), Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ:ROSS), CAVA Group Inc. (NYSE:CAVA) and BILL Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BILL).

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