Key Takeaways
- Wall Street slipped ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole address, with investors scaling back expectations for a September rate cut.
- U.S. jobless claims rose at the fastest pace in three months while continuing claims hit a near four-year high, underscoring labor market weakness.
- Business activity strengthened in August, with the flash PMI climbing to its highest since December, though Walmart’s results dragged on retail sentiment.
- Bitcoin fell to $112K alongside losses in Ethereum and Solana, while gold eased as investors awaited Powell’s remarks.
On August 22, 2025, markets recorded losses as investors braced for Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks at Jackson Hole, with weak labor data and a disappointing earnings report from Walmart further weighing on sentiment.
On the diplomatic front, Washington offered few fresh catalysts and geopolitics stayed muted, with markets focused on Powell’s upcoming address at Jackson Hole for direction on U.S. monetary policy.
On the economic front, concerns over interest rates sharpened, with bets on a September 25-basis-point cut have slipping to 79% from nearly 99% last week, underscoring how sensitive markets remain to Powell’s tone.
Additionally, new data showed initial jobless claims rising at the fastest pace in three months, while continuing claims hit a near four-year high, signaling that labor market weakness extended into August.
At the same time, business activity picked up, with S&P Global’s early August PMI estimate rising to 55.4, the strongest since December, boosted by manufacturing orders.
Meanwhile, Wall Street banks came under scrutiny for conservative IPO pricing, with first-day gains averaging 36% and sparking debate over whether issuers are giving up too much value to investors.
The contrasting signals left investors cautious, with attention fixed on whether Powell acknowledges slowing employment or emphasizes resilience in demand.
In Crypto, Bitcoin slipped to $112,384, down 1.6%, while Ethereum fell 2.3% to $4,235 and Solana dropped 4% to around $180.
Despite the downturn, developments across the sector remained active. MetaMask said it would launch its own stablecoin, MetaMask USD (mUSD), later this year on Ethereum and Linea in partnership with Stripe’s Bridge platform, expanding its reach into payments with Mastercard support.
Additionally, Gemini secured a MiCA license in Malta, granting access to operate across more than 30 EU countries under the bloc’s new framework.
Meanwhile, Binance continued to dominate token listings, with $133 billion in new-coin trading volumes this year, while institutional Ethereum holdings climbed past 4.1 million ETH, valued at $17.6 billion.
Price movements
Global Indices
- S&P 500 Index (SPX): 6,370.18 (-0.40%)
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI): 44,785.50 (-0.34%)
- Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC): 21,100.31 (-0.34%)
- Nikkei 225 Futures (NK2251D): 42,630.0 (+0.05%)
- Euronext 100 Index (N100-D): 1,622.37 (-0.02%)
- FTSE 100 (UKX): 9,318.5 (+0.15%)
Cryptocurrencies
- Bitcoin (BTCUSD): 112,384 (-1.64%)
- Ethereum (ETHUSDT): 4,235.73 (-2.32%)
- Binance Coin (BNBUSDT): 837.11 (-3.80%)
- Solana (SOLUSDT): 180.39 (-4.02%)
- Notcoin (NOTUSDT): 0.001835 (-2.39%)
- BTC Dominance (BTC.D): 59.4% (+0.20%)
Major Stocks
- Nvidia (NVDA): 174.98 (-0.24%)
- Tesla (TSLA): 320.11 (-1.17%)
- Microsoft (MSFT): 504.24 (-0.29%)
- Meta Platforms (META): 739.10 (-1.15%)
- Apple (AAPL): 224.90 (-0.49%)
- Amazon (AMZN): 221.95 (-0.83%)
Commodities
- Silver (XAGUSD): 38.10 (+0.54%)
- Gold (XAUUSD): 3,338.20 (-0.33%)
- WTI Crude Oil (USOIL): 63.47 (+1.02%)
- Brent Crude Oil (BRENT): 68.17 (-3.68%)
Forex
- U.S. Dollar Index (DXY): 98.21 (+0.44%)
- EUR/USD: 1.1605 (-0.39%)
- GBP/USD: 1.3414 (-0.32%)
- USD/JPY: 148.37 (+0.72%)
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