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Indexes off: Dow 0.27%, S&P 500 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.23%

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Walmart ( WMT ) hikes annual forecast; shares drop

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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 to after market open)

By Johann M Cherian and Sanchayaita Roy

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

Thursday, as 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 4.3% and pressured the consumer

staples sector, which declined 0.9%.

The "results were actually pretty good...I just think

they're landing in a market that has taken on a risk off tone

this week," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley

Wealth.

Reports from other retailers such as Target ( TGT ) and Home

Depot ( HD ) earlier this week painted a mixed picture, while

technology-related stocks such as Meta, Amazon.com ( AMZN )

and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) declined sharply.

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.

But according to the Stock Trader's Almanac, the selloff

could also be a result of investors paring back their stock

exposure during a traditionally rocky period for equities.

At 10:04 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 119.30 points, or 0.27%, to 44,817.87, the S&P 500

lost 13.98 points, or 0.22%, to 6,381.80 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 48.09 points, or 0.23%, to 21,124.77.

Coty ( COTY ) slumped 20% after the beauty products maker

forecast a drop in current-quarter sales on weak U.S. spending.

Traders are now focused on the Fed's annual symposium, where

Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Friday at 10 a.m.

ET. They are looking for any commentary from Powell that would

signal an interest rate cut 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.

Data on Thursday added to worries of a labor market

slowdown, while a private report showed business activity picked

up pace in August, reflecting a complicated environment in which

the central bank will have to deliver its verdict next month.

The minutes from the central bank's July meeting indicated

that policymakers had struck a cautious tone and plan to stick

with it until they can fully gauge the impact of trade

uncertainty on the economy.

The caution had traders paring odds of a 25-basis-point

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

according to data compiled by LSEG.

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

Thursday finalized a framework deal they had reached last month.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.85-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.69-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

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

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 30 new highs and 66 new

lows.

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

Shinjini Ganguli)