DJIA down 0.23% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - New York, 22 Aug - US shares were lower midday as investors juggled bets on interest rate cuts a day before Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gives a keenly-awaited speech.

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

The data took on greater importance coming a day after an official revision was made to payrolls data showing the jobs market may have been cooling off much earlier than thought.

With inflation on its way down, 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.

The focus now shifts firmly to Powell's appearance at the Jackson Hole Symposium tomorrow when investors will be watching for any change of tone on where he sees monetary policy.

The Fed has signalled in recent weeks it is ready to start cutting rates beginning with its next policy meeting in September but the focus is shifting to how fast and deep such a move may be.

On the stocks front, shares in Peloton surged 26% in early trade after its fourth-quarter revenue beat estimates while shares in Paramount were up 1% after Edgar Bronfman sweetened his offer for National Amusements and a minority stake in the studio.

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

At 1519 GMT, the Dow Jones was down 95.85 points, or 0.23%, at 40,793.35 points.

The S&P 500 was 7.63 points, or 0.14%, lower at 5,613.22 points.

The Nasdaq was losing 39.12 points, or 0.22%, at 17,879.87 points.

AAA-Sje

(RADIOCOR) 22-08-24 17:23:00 (0451) 5 NNNN