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Indexes off: Dow 0.34%, S&P 500 0.35%, Nasdaq 0.35%

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Walmart ( WMT ) slides after missing quarterly profit expectations

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US weekly jobless claims rise to highest since June

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Coty ( COTY ) plunges on weak U.S. spending forecast

(Updates stocks percentage moves, quotes)

By Johann M Cherian, Sanchayaita Roy and Carolina Mandl

Aug 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes fell on

Thursday as investors awaited monetary policy clues from the

Federal Reserve's annual economic symposium, while big-box

retailer Walmart's ( WMT ) quarterly results dampened sentiment.

All eyes are now on the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, symposium

where Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Friday at 10

a.m. ET. Traders will closely monitor Powell's speech for any

clues on interest rate cuts in September following recent job

market weakness.

"Jitters over what's going to transpire tomorrow at Jackson

Hole is certainly weighing on risk appetite a little bit with

chair Powell's speech," said Adam Turnquist, chief technical

strategist for LPL Financial. "There could be a decent selloff

if we get a more hawkish than expected event."

Traders have pared down bets on a 25-basis-point

interest rate cut in September to 79% from 99.9% last week,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

Multiple policymakers, including Cleveland Fed President

Beth Hammack, Atlanta President Raphael Bostic and Kansas City

Fed President Jeffrey Schmid, have struck a cautious tone and

acknowledged the need to stay data-dependent.

A labor market report on Thursday showed signs of a

slowdown, while a private report indicated business activity

picked up pace in August, reflecting a complex environment for

the U.S. central bank, which will deliberate on interest rates

next month.

At 2:00 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell

155.46 points, or 0.34%, to 44,782.85, the S&P 500 lost

22.16 points, or 0.35%, to 6,373.63 and the Nasdaq Composite

lost 74.59 points, or 0.35%, to 21,098.27.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were down, led by consumer

staples, which declined 1.4% after Walmart ( WMT ) raised its

fiscal year sales and profit, driven by strong demand from

shoppers across all income levels, but missed quarterly profit

estimates and flagged higher costs from tariffs.

Shares of the retailer tumbled 4.8%. The spotlight was on

reports from retailers, including Target ( TGT ) and Home Depot ( HD )

, this week as investors gauged the impact of U.S. tariffs

on consumer spending.

"There's a bit of a mixed picture within the consumer space

and there's uncertainty in the economy - whether that's the job

market or whether that's prices (increasing) from a tariff pass

through," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at

Northlight Asset Management.

A technology stocks selloff earlier this week appeared to

lose some steam, but Nvidia ( NVDA ), Meta, Amazon.com ( AMZN )

and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) remained weaker.

The selloff signaled investor fears that tech stocks, which

have soared from April lows, are overvalued, while Washington's

growing interference in the sector has also raised alarms.

Among other market movers, Coty ( COTY ) slumped 22.3% after

the beauty products maker forecast lower current-quarter sales

on weak U.S. spending.

In trade developments, the U.S. and the European Union on

Thursday finalized a framework deal they reached last month,

with no impact on stocks.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.62-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE. There were 97 new highs and 36 new lows on the

NYSE.

The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and no new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 54 new highs and 95 new

lows.