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* The three major U.S. stock indexes closed down

* Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.33%

*COMEX gold hits new high

On Tuesday, August 20, local time, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed slightly lower, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ending their eight-day winning streak. The market continues to pay attention to U.S. stock earnings, the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting, and Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Central Bank Annual Meeting.

As of the close of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.56 points from the previous trading day to close at 40,834.97, a drop of 0.15%; the S&P 500 fell 11.13 points to close at 5,597.12, a drop of 0.20%; and the Nasdaq Composite fell 59.83 points to close at 17,816.94, a drop of 0.33%.

Nvidia closed down 2.12%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.33%. Technology stocks, especially semiconductor stocks, are the main driving force behind the recent rebound in U.S. stocks.

Palo Alto Networks surged 7.2% after the cybersecurity company's fourth-quarter results beat expectations and its adjusted earnings guidance came in above estimates.

Shares of Lowe's fell 1.2 percent after the home improvement retailer cut its annual profit and comparable sales forecasts due to weaker-than-expected DIY sales and pressure from the macroeconomic environment.

On Friday, August 23, local time, during the annual central bank meeting held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the Federal Reserve Chairman Powell will deliver an important speech that has attracted global attention. Analysts generally believe that Powell will take this opportunity to confirm that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, and investors' focus has shifted from whether to cut interest rates to the extent of the cut.

"If traders hear that rate cuts are coming, the stock market will react positively. If they don't hear what we want to hear, it will trigger a massive sell-off," said Eric Beiley, executive managing director of wealth management at Steward Partners Global Advisory. "The market is very confident that rate cuts will come soon. It would be a surprise if Powell didn't emphasize that this is the way forward."

Simon White, a macro strategist at Bloomberg, said Powell may take this opportunity to emphasize that the risk of the United States falling into a recession is limited, thereby further reducing the risk of asset prices being negatively affected by the economy. White said that Powell will undoubtedly emphasize the dependence of the Fed's response function on data, but he may also emphasize the relative health of the US economy, thereby reducing the risk that the market may trigger a feedback loop due to recession. The extent of the rate cut expected by the market still seems to be vulnerable to repricing.

Some analysts warned investors not to expect Powell to give too many clear statements. Tom Hainlin, national investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management, said: "Looking back at past speeches in Jackson Hole, we are unlikely to get very clear comments from Powell."

William Dudley, former president of the New York Fed, said Powell may hint that tight monetary policy is no longer necessary, but will not hint at how big the first rate cut will be, especially considering the release of the non-farm payrolls report on September 6.

Currently, traders generally expect the Fed to cut interest rates in September, but there are still differences on the extent of the cut. Citi believes that with few Fed officials speaking publicly in the first few days of this week, Powell's remarks on Friday are particularly important, which is why option traders expect the volatility of the S&P 500 index to exceed 1% on Friday, whether it goes up or down, based on the cost of at-the-money call and put options.

Goldman Sachs recently lowered the probability of the United States falling into a recession in 2024 from 25% to 20%, arguing that the latest inflation and economic data showed no clear signs of a recession.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Bowman said on August 20 that she still sees upside risks to inflation, but if price growth continues to slow, a gradual reduction in interest rates would be appropriate.

Bowman believes that "some further progress has been made in reducing inflation" in recent months, but upside risks remain due to "heightened geopolitical tensions, additional fiscal stimulus and increased housing demand due to immigration."

In the commodity market, international oil prices fell on the 20th. As of the close of the day, the price of light crude oil futures for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by 33 cents to close at US$74.04 per barrel, a drop of 0.44%.

The weakening of the US dollar and the increasing expectations of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut pushed gold prices to continue their upward trend. COMEX gold futures closed up 0.42% at $2,552.1 per ounce.