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Indexes off: Dow 0.17%, S&P 500 0.20%, Nasdaq 0.20%

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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 ) falls on weak U.S. spending forecast

(Updates with late morning prices)

By Johann M Cherian and Sanchayaita Roy

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

Thursday, as cautious investors awaited clues on monetary policy

from a Federal Reserve conference in Jackson Hole, while big-box

retailer Walmart's ( WMT ) quarterly results did little to boost

sentiment.

Walmart ( WMT ) raised its fiscal year sales and profit,

driven by strong demand from shoppers across all income levels,

but missed quarterly profit expectations and flagged higher

costs from tariffs.

Shares of the retailer fell 3.4% and pressured the consumer

staples sector, which declined 0.9%. The spotlight was

on reports from retailers, including Target ( TGT ) and Home

Depot ( HD ), this week as investors tried to gauge 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 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 central bank that has to deliver its verdict on rate cuts

next month.

All eyes are now on the Fed's annual 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.

"Investors are looking for assurance from Powell that a rate

cut is likely at the September meeting, in order to help prevent

any further weakening of the labor market," said Rick Gardner,

chief investment officer at RGA Investments.

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.

Traders have pared down their expectations for a

25-basis-point interest rate cut in September to 79% from 99.9%

last week, according to data compiled by LSEG.

At 11:50 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 74.70 points, or 0.17%, to 44,863.61, the S&P 500

lost 12.73 points, or 0.20%, to 6,383.05 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 42.87 points, or 0.20%, to 21,129.99.

A selloff in technology stocks earlier this week appeared to

subside, with technology-related stocks such as Meta,

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD )

marginally lower.

The selloff signaled investor fears that the equities, which

have soared since April lows, are now overvalued, while

Washington's growing interference in the sector has also raised

alarms.

Among other market movers, Coty ( COTY ) slumped 20% after

the beauty products maker forecast a drop in 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.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.42-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.11-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

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

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 45 new highs and 86 new

lows.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sanchayaita Roy; Editing by

Shinjini Ganguli)