US stocks ended lower on Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh reinforced the central bank's commitment to bringing inflation back to its 2% target, prompting investors to reassess expectations for a September rate move, Reuters reported. 56.

38. Warsh's first speech at Jackson Hole offered little support to hopes that the Federal Reserve could ease its stance on inflation.

Instead, his remarks pushed traders to increase bets on a rate hike next month, although expectations remained split between a hike and a hold. Without confidence that inflation was heading clearly and with sufficient speed toward the Fed's 2% goal, the central bank would have "more work to do," Warsh said.

He also said recent inflation data did not point to a change in trend." Why the market is modestly reacting is he (Warsh) is very adamant that the 2% inflation target is going to remain.

He is reiterating the hawkishness, but in a more of a consistent way than an incremental way," said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist for Nationwide, according to Reuters." There's been somewhat misguided thoughts among investors that this would soften a little bit.

Clearly, that's not the case." Warsh's remarks came at the end of a week that had already kept markets focused on the outlook for interest rates, with corporate results from Nvidia and Salesforce adding another layer to investor sentiment."

We were encouraged by Warsh's speech. S.

economics research at Bank of America, said in a note, according to Reuters. Bhave said Warsh would need to deliver a rate hike in September unless August jobs and inflation data came in very soft.

Otherwise, he said, Warsh would probably lose credibility. The market's reaction was also shaped by a mixed performance in technology stocks.

Chip shares pulled back after rallying in the previous session on Nvidia's stronger-than-expected forecast, which had renewed optimism around the durability of the artificial intelligence boom. Nvidia shares slipped, while Marvell Technology fell sharply as investors questioned the timing of revenue from its AI chip agreement with Alphabet's Google, despite the company raising its 2027 revenue forecast.

Several megacap stocks, however, offered some support. Alphabet rose, making communication services the strongest boost to the S&P 500, while Apple also gained.