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Magnificent Seven stocks fall

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Home Depot ( HD ) up after retaining annual forecasts

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Intel ( INTC ) jumps on SoftBank investment

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Indexes: Dow flat; S&P down 0.59%; Nasdaq down 1.46%

(Adds closing percentages, market details)

By Johann M Cherian, Sanchayaita Roy and Carolina Mandl

Aug 19 (Reuters) -

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 slid on Tuesday driven by tech

stocks, as investors gear up for what Federal Reserve chair

Jerome Powell will say about the path of interest rates at a key

conference later in the week.

The Nasdaq fell as megacaps lost, after having rallied for

much of the year. Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 3.5%, the biggest drop in

nearly four months.

The key event this week is the Fed's annual symposium at

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from Aug. 21-23, where Powell's comments

will be scrutinized for any clues on the central bank's outlook

on the economy and monetary policy.

"It seems like folks are hedging a little going into Jackson

Hole, thinking Powell might be more hawkish than markets

currently appreciate," said James Cox, managing partner at

Harris Financial Group.

Interest rate futures point to a total of two rate cuts this

year worth 25 basis points each, with the first expected in

September, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Some market participants also expressed some concerns about

AI-related stocks after OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman said they are in

a bubble in an interview with "The Verge" late last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.45

points, roughly flat, to 44,922.27, the S&P 500 lost

37.78 points, or 0.59%, to 6,411.37 and the Nasdaq Composite

lost 314.82 points, or 1.46%, to 21,314.95.

Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, said

some investors are taking some profits from tech stocks and

rotating into other sectors. "(This move) spills into the

broader market because of those stocks' weight in major

indices," he added.

Still, six of the S&P 500 sectors rose. Real estate

led the pack, up 1.8%, helped by better-than-expected

housing data

. On the other hand, technology and communications

services lost over 1.9% and 1.2%, respectively.

A Reuters poll showed on Tuesday that the S&P 500 will

end 2025 just

below current near-record levels

, at 6,300 points, reflecting tempered optimism amid ongoing

concerns over the economic impact of President Donald Trump's

global tariffs and uncertainty surrounding Fed rate cuts.

The blue-chip Dow briefly hit a record high on Tuesday,

aided by a rise in Home Depot's ( HD ) shares after the retailer kept

its annual forecasts intact.

Home Depot ( HD ) rose 3.17% despite

missing

quarterly results estimates, while rival home-improvement

chain Lowe's also gained 2.18%.

Earnings from Lowe's and big-box retailers Walmart ( WMT )

and Target ( TGT ) later this week are now in focus as

investors await more insight on the health of the American

consumer.

"Consumers are still not really spending at full speed

ahead, they're a little bit cautious," said Peter Cardillo,

chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.

"They're waiting to see the full results of the tariffs'

impact on the upcoming holiday sales in a couple of months from

now."

Intel ( INTC ) jumped roughly 7% after the chipmaker got

a $2 billion

capital injection

from Japan's SoftBank Group.

Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) rose 3.06% after the

cybersecurity

company forecast

fiscal 2026 revenue and profit above estimates.

Medtronic ( MDT ) lost 3.13%, after the company said it

would

add two new directors

to its board after Elliott Investment Management took a

large stake in the medical-device maker.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.06-to-1

ratio on the NYSE. There were 205 new highs and 62 new lows on

the NYSE.

The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and one new low

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 56 new highs and 88 new

lows.