Shares decline amid Afghan chaos

U.S. stock indexes dropped their early gains Thursday morning as chaos deepened in Afghanistan following two explosions outside Kabul airport. Investors are also watching the Federal Reserve as it launched a two-day event that could lay the groundwork for a rate cut and hike.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 117 points or 0.33%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.48% each. The S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at historic highs on Wednesday.

Teleprinter	Security	Last	Switch	Switch %
Me: DJI	MEDIUM DOW JONES	35350.18	-55.32	-0.16%
SP500	S&P 500	4479.98	-16.21	-0.36%
I: COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	14989.586602	-52.27	-0.35%

At least three US Marines were injured in an explosion outside the Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. A second explosion and gunfire near the airport were also reported.

The Fed’s Jackson Hole virtual symposium begins Thursday, but the key event will be President Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday which could indicate when the central bank could start cutting asset purchases and possibly raising interest rates in the future. the goal of curbing inflation.

Before Powell’s remarks, Kansas City Fed President Ester George gave her own assessment of the economy in an interview with FOX Business.

“I think when we look at the outlook for the economy, there has been good progress on the labor market front, the inflation numbers are definitely strong suggest there is an opportunity to start slowing down asset purchases so that the process of adjusting the conversation about it is already underway, ”she said.

In economic data, the second quarter gross domestic product has been revised to 6.6% growth from the initial estimate of 6.5%. This as initial jobless claims hit 353,000, but remained near a pandemic-era low.

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As for equities, financials were the center of attention as investors eagerly awaited Powell’s speech and indices on when rate hikes could begin.

Teleprinter	Security	Last	Switch	Switch %
XLF	SPDR SELECT FINANCIAL SECTOR ETF	38.76	+0.08	+ 0.21%
JPM	JPMORGAN CHASE & CO.	162.73	+1.79	+ 1.11%
SG	THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.	416.70	+3.74	+ 0.91%

Elsewhere, Western Digital Corp. and the Japanese Kioxia Holdings Corp. are in talks to merge in a more than $ 20 billion deal that would create a giant chipmaker, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

Teleprinter	Security	Last	Switch	Switch %
DEO	WALKER & DUNLOP INC	100.70	-0.64	-0.63%

In terms of earnings, Salesforce.com Inc.’s quarterly results exceeded analysts’ expectations and the company raised its full-year earnings forecast after finalizing its acquisition of Slack, a workplace messenger. .

Teleprinter	Security	Last	Switch	Switch %
CRM	SALESFORCE.COM, INC.	273.89	+12.67	+ 4.85%

Dollar General Corp.’s full-year profit forecast ran out of estimates because the company feared higher costs would hurt its margins. Rival Dollar Tree Inc. cut its annual profit forecast amid similar concerns and noted supply chain issues.

Teleprinter	Security	Last	Switch	Switch %
DG	DOLLAR CORP.	222.52	-12.61	-5.36%
DLTR	THE DOLLAR TREE, INC.	94.03	-12.29	-11.56%

Kitchen and housewares retailer Williams-Sonoma Inc. raised its quarterly dividend 20.3% to 71 cents per share and announced a new $ 1.25 billion share buyback program . The company’s profits and sales have exceeded Wall Street estimates.

Teleprinter	Security	Last	Switch	Switch %
WSM	WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.	189.21	+18.69	+ 10.96%

Cosmetics maker Coty Inc. reported higher and lower than expected results and forecast annual sales growth for the first time in at least three years. Beauty retailer Ulta Beauty Inc. also posted strong sales forecasts for the full year.

Teleprinter	Security	Last	Switch	Switch %
COTY	COTY, INC.	9.41	+1.18	+ 14.29%
ULTA	ULTA BEAUTÉ, INC.	388.69	-1.21	-0.31%

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 78 cents to $ 67.58 per barrel and gold climbed 90 cents to $ 1,791.90 per ounce.

Overseas markets were mostly down.

European stock markets were under modest selling pressure, with the German DAX 30 falling 0.48%, the French CAC 40 down 0.29% and the UK FTSE 100 down 0.28%.

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In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.58% after the Bank of Korea raised interest rates.

Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.08% and 1.09%, respectively, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.06% .