S&P 500 Gains and Losses Today: Tech Rally Stalls Ahead of Speech From Fed Chair Powell

The S&P 500 Index dropped 1.4% on Thursday, with the recent rally in tech stocks reversing course after a Federal Reserve official suggested more interest rate hikes may be needed to tamp down inflation, and ahead of a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday.

Dollar Tree (DLTR) had the worst performance among S&P 500 stocks, with shares diving 12.9% after the company beat earnings estimates but issued a weaker-than-expected forecast as an increase in costs related to shoplifting pressured its margins.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped 7% after announcing it would acquire French AI software company Mipsology, and rival Nvidia (NVDA) posted a blowout earnings report. Intel (INTC) also saw shares dip 4.1%.

Enphase Energy (ENPH) shares dropped 6.2%, continuing what has been a difficult month for solar stocks after SolarEdge (SEDG) issued lower-than-expected guidance for the third quarter.

Leading gains on the index, shares of cleaning product manufacturer Clorox (CLX) gained 2.2% as an uptick in COVID-19 infections boosted expectations that demand for the company's disinfecting products could rise.

Prudential Financial (PRU) was also among the index's top performers, with shares up 2.2% after announcing that it will be moving its retail brokerage and investment advisory assets to LPL Financial from its current third-party custodian, Fidelity. According to the company, the change will include building out an enhanced technology platform that will help advisors better serve their clients.

Software firm Autodesk (ADSK), known for its computer-aided design and 3D design products, posted gains of 2.1% after reporting stronger-than-expected results, citing momentum in its digitization and construction segments.