Nasdaq down 1.18% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - New York, 22 Aug - US shares were lower in afternoon trade weighed down by tech losses on the eve of a key speech from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell.

Investors are hoping tomorrow's appearance by Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium will provide insight into where interest rates will be going this year.

The Fed has signalled in recent weeks it is ready to start cutting rates beginning with its next policy meeting in September but hopes are rising cuts may be faster and deeper than originally thought.

As inflation slowly cools, the jobs market has become a critical component for the Fed in calibrating its monetary policy.

Earlier this week Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said an interest rate cut in September was a possibility given that the jobs market had started to show signs of weakening excessively.

Weekly jobless claims earlier today rose slightly from the previous week signalling the labor market is continuing to cool gradually.

The data was of particular importance coming a day after an official revision was made to payrolls data showing the jobs market may have been slowing much earlier than thought.

On the stocks front, shares in Peloton surged 36% after its fourth-quarter revenue beat estimates while shares in Paramount were higher after Edgar Bronfman sweetened his offer for National Amusements and a minority stake in the studio. Nvidia was down 2.7%.

Ross Stores, Workday and Intuit are among companies report results after the market closes.

At 1738 GMT, the Dow Jones was down 213.89 points, or 0.52%, at 40,679.59 points.

The S&P 500 was 39.43 points, or 0.70%, lower at 5,581.31 points.

The Nasdaq was losing 211.30 points, or 1.18%, at 17,707.69 points.

AAA-Sje

(RADIOCOR) 22-08-24 19:48:17 (0567) 5 NNNN