Tech Selloff and Fed Jitters: U.S. stocks swung lower on August 19 as a tech-led slide dragged the Nasdaq down about 1.5%, even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly touched a record high reuters.com reuters.com. High-flying AI names like Nvidia plunged, weighing on growth stocks, amid investor anxiety over the Federal Reserve’s upcoming Jackson Hole symposium reuters.com reuters.com. “There’s an anxiety about Powell’s comments at Jackson Hole… higher interest rates have a big impact on growth stocks,” noted Ross Mayfield of Baird, reflecting fears the Fed may stay hawkish despite market bets on rate cuts reuters.com reuters.com. Futures markets were pricing in at least two quarter-point Fed rate reductions by year-end reuters.com reuters.com, even as Fed officials grapple with inflation that’s still above target. Notably, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields eased to around 4.31%, after recently hitting multi-year highs reuters.com. The U.S. dollar strengthened for a third straight session ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s August 22 speech, pushing the dollar index up to a 1½-week high reuters.com reuters.com.
