Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 slid 0.4% on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, as investors looked ahead to key remarks from the Federal Reserve chair Friday.
- Shares of First Solar and other solar companies fell after President Trump said the U.S. wouldn’t approve new solar or wind projects.
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares climbed after Morgan Stanley analysts upgraded the stock on optimism about AI demand.
Major U.S. equities indexes lost ground Thursday amid uncertainty ahead of Friday’s highly anticipated remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The S&P 500 lost 0.4%, in the fifth straight losing session for the benchmark index. The Dow and tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.3%.
Shares of First Solar (FSLR) plunged 7%, leading losses on the S&P 500 after President Trump said the U.S. wouldn’t approve solar or wind projects, citing high electricity costs in states that utilize the renewable energy technologies. Other solar stocks including Sunrun (RUN), Enphase Energy (ENPH), and SolarEdge (SEDG) also fell.
Walmart (WMT) shares dropped close to 5% after the retail giant reported quarterly profits that came in below analysts’ expectations. While the company grew revenue nearly 5% year-over-year and comparable store sales 4.3%, its operating income fell more than 8%. Walmart raised its outlook for the full fiscal year.
Allstate (ALL) shares lost 3.3%. The drop followed a monthly report in which the insurer reported catastrophe losses of $184 million or $145 million after tax for July 2025, citing a number of wind and hail events.
Paramount Skydance (PSKY) shares surged more than 14%, continuing to move like a “meme stock.” The newly merged company last week said it acquired the programming rights to fighting league UFC.
Packaging Corp of America (PKG) shares jumped over 6% and rival packing firm Smurfit WestRock (SW) moved up 4% after International Paper (IP) announced business changes including plant closures, which could lower the supply of paper materials and push prices higher for packaging materials. International Paper shares added about 2%.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares gained 3.7% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the company’s stock to “overweight” from “equal-weight,” citing optimism over growth from the firm’s artificial intelligence and other products.
Nordson (NDSN) shares rose 3% after the adhesives maker posted better-than-anticipated results and guidance as sales at its medical and fluid solutions unit grew. The company also announced a $500 million stock buyback plan.
Dayforce (DAY) shares climbed 2.4%, extending recent gains after Thoma Bravo agreed to purchase the human resources software provider in a $12.3 billion deal.
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