Wall Street selloff accelerates on Powell’s hawkish remarks

Stocks sharply sold off, on Friday, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his Jackson Hole speech the central bank “won’t back off in its fight against rapid inflation”.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 611 points, or 1.85%, after initially seesawing during the Fed chair’s comments. The S&P 500 fell 2.18% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 2.71%. Those moves follow a hawkish speech from the Fed chair who reiterated a tough stance against inflation, spurring investors to weigh the implications of higher interest rates for longer.

One of the Fed’s favorite inflation measures, the personal consumption expenditures data, on Friday showed price increases eased in July. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index showed a better-than-expected reading.

Shares of Affirm declined 22% after the consumer lending company issued weak full-year revenue guidance. The major averages were on pace for their second straight down week. The Dow is on track for a 2.9% decline. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are heading to losses of roughly 2.8% and 3.2%, respectively.