Dow, S&P 500 Fall from Highs as Investors Await Stimulus Input

The three major benchmarks logged their first losses of the week, as Wall Street waits for additional comments regarding stimulus from the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium.

The three major benchmarks logged their first losses of the week, as Wall Street waits for additional comments regarding stimulus from the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium. Developments in Afghanistan also captured the attention of traders, after two explosions outside of Kabul airport killed at least 12 U.S. service members. In turn, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell sharply from yesterday's record closes. Meanwhile, the Dow fell triple digits, snapping its four-day winning streak due to mixed economic data. Conversely, Wall Street's "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), notched its best day since Aug. 18.

The Dow Jones Average (DJI - 35,213.12) fell 192.4 points or 0.5% for the day. Salesforce.com (CRM) led the small list of Dow winners after taking on 2.7%, while Boeing (BA) fell 2.1% to pace the laggards.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 4,470.00) lost 26.2 points or 0.6% for the day. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 14,945.81) dipped 96.1 points, or 0.6%, for the day.

Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 18.84) rose 2.1 points or 12.2% for the day.

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OIL SNAPS WIN STREAK AS VIRUS WOES MOUNT

Oil prices snapped a three-day winning streak today, as investors weighed demand for the commodity as the U.S. driving summer season nears its end, and delta variant fears continue to haunt investors. As a result, October-dated crude shed 94 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $67.42 per barrel.

Gold prices, on the other hand, logged a win. The yellow metal hit an intraday high above the psychologically relevant $1,800 level, after comments at the annual Jackson Hole symposium suggested that the central bank's tapering process may be completed by early 2022. December-dated gold added $4.20, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,795.20 an ounce.

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