India, Aug. 21 -- Stocks fluctuated early in the session on Thursday before mostly lower over the course of the trading day. The major averages all moved to the downside on the day, with the S&P 500 closing lower for the fifth consecutive session.
The major averages finished the day off their worst levels but still in negative territory. The S&P 500 slid 25.61 points or 0.4 percent to 6,370.17, the Nasdaq fell 75.55 points or 0.3 percent to 21,100.31 and the Dow declined 152.81 points or 0.3 percent to 44,785.50.
The weakness on Wall Street partly reflected lingering uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.
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