NEW YORK, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Stocks closed mixed on Thursday as investors closely monitored the Federal Reserve's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 49.51 points, or 0.19 percent, to 26,252.24. The S&P 500 fell 1.48 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,922.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 28.82 points, or 0.36 percent, to 7,991.39.
Market hopes that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will clarify the central bank's stance on interest rate cuts and confirm the expectation of a more accommodating monetary policy at the symposium.
Powell is scheduled to deliver a speech on Friday.
The Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points in late July for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis. While citing economic and trade uncertainties, Powell emphasized at a press conference following last month's meeting that the rate cut was only a "mid-cycle adjustment" rather than the start of a series of more accommodative policies.
According to the minutes of the central bank's July meeting that was released on Wednesday, Fed officials were divided over whether to cut interest rates.
Market expectations for another rate cut in September are at 93.5 percent, according to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group's FedWatch tool.
Meanwhile, The U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) was 49.9 in August, down from 50.4 in July and below the neutral 50.0 threshold for the first time since September 2009, according to IHS Markit on Thursday. Any reading below 50 signals a contraction.
Tim Moore, economics associate director at IHS Markit, said in a statement that August's survey data provides a clear signal that economic growth has continued to soften in the third quarter.
"The PMIs for manufacturing and services remain much weaker than at the beginning of 2019 and collectively point to annualized GDP growth of around 1.5 percent," said Moore.
"Manufacturing companies continued to feel the impact of slowing global economic conditions, with new export sales falling at the fastest pace since August 2009," he added.
The weak economic data added to market's fears for a U.S. economic recession, which have been a hot topic for a while.
