"Market Jitters: Nikkei and Dow Jones Tumble Ahead of Powell's Speech, Wall Street Ends Down Sharply"

Asia-Pacific markets, including Japan's Nikkei 225, fell ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole meeting, with the Nikkei tumbling 2.05%. Meituan, a Chinese food delivery giant, saw its shares dip over 5% after warning of a slowdown in food delivery volume in Q3. Malaysia's consumer price index rose 2% in July, the slowest rate of increase in almost two years. Tokyo's core inflation for August came in at 2.8%, the lowest in 12 months. Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker indicated that further interest rate hikes may not be necessary and that cuts could happen in 2024. The tech sector was the worst-performing sector on Thursday, with Nvidia on pace for its third best year ever. Initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell more than expected.