Stocks booked back-to-back losses on Monday, with the Dow adding to its 1,000-point skid Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell vowed not to back down on fighting inflation until U.S. costs of living fall back to its 2% target range. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed about 183 points, or 0.6%, to end near 32,099. The S&P 500 index shed about 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index saw the brunt of the day's losses, ending down 1%, according to FactSet. The S&P 500 and Dow both briefly flipped positive earlier in Monday's session, but failed to hold those gains as losses mounted heading into the closing bell. Investors still were digesting Powell's short, but blunt speech at the annual Jackson Hole economic symposium, which was viewed as trigger of Friday's sharp selloff in equities. The Fed's more hawkish tone also sent the 10-year Treasury yield up by 7.5 basis points to 3.109% on Monday, the highest level since June 28, according to Dow Jones Market Data based on 3 p.m. Eastern yields.

The stock-market selloff was intensifying Friday afternoon following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's terse speech at Jackson Hole vowing to fight inflation until the battle has been won by bringing the annual cost of living back down to the central banks's 2% target. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 740 points, or 2.2%, near 32,549, at last check. That would mark its worst daily percentage decline since June 16, when it tumbled 2.4%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 was off 2.6% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was bearing the brunt of the selloff, down 3.2%, according to FactSet. Fed Chair Powell said the Fed will keep working to bring inflation down, even if it means hurting jobs and economic growth and that the process "will also bring some pain to households and businesses."

U.S. stocks finished modestly higher Wednesday, with all three major stock benchmarks ending a 3-session skid, as investors picked up shares after a sharp market selloff earlier this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 61 points, or 0.2%, ending near 32,970, while the S&P 500 index closed up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.4%. Stocks booked modest gains as investors remained focused on the Federal Reserve's inflation fight and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole, Wyo. symposium on Friday. Recession worries also were in focus, with pending homes sales falling in July, a sign that rate hikes have been helping cool demand, even through shelter costs, specifically rents, have contributed to high U.S. inflation. Benchmark lending climbed Wednesday, with the 10-year Treasury rate climbing to 3.105% Wednesday, the highest since June 28, according to Dow Jones Market Data based on 3 p.m. Eastern levels. The S&P 500's energy sector helped lead the way higher, up 1.2%, while financial rose 0.5%, according to FactSet

Shares of real estate services companies were knocked lower Wednesday after surprisingly strong inflation data sent Treasury yields climbing. A big jump in longer-term Treasury yields this year has weighed heavily on the housing market, as they reduce affordability by boosting mortgage lending rates. Shares of Redfin Corp. slumped 4.6%, Zillow Group Inc. dropped 4.0%, Anywhere Real Estate Inc. shed 2.9% and RE/MAX Holdings Inc. lost 2.3%. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 7.6 basis points (0.076 percentage points) to 3.034%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell 1.0%.

First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. said Thursday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, due to "significant operating losses and cash flow challenges" resulting from adverse market conditions for the mortgage lending industry. The mortgage company said its bankruptcy has not impact on closed mortgages, as they are already serviced by third parties, and said it has retained "a portion of its workforce" to manage the day-to-day business. "The sharp and unexpected decline in performance reflects the intense pressure on mortgage originations due to the dramatic collapse of the mortgage refinance market and the weakening mortgage purchase market, which has suffered from a lack of housing inventory and increasing affordability issues," the company said. FGMC said it will try to accommodate the maximum number of borrowers who have started buy not yet completed the loan process.

U.S. new-home sales decreased 8.6% to an annual rate of 763,000 in March, the government said Tuesday. That figure represents the quantity of homes that would be sold over a yearlong period of time if the same number of properties were bought each month based on the rate of sales in March. Compared to a year ago, sales were down 12.6%. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected new-home sales in March to drop to an annual rate of 770,000.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city price index posted a 20.2% year-over-year gain in February, up markedly from 18.9% the previous month. On a monthly basis, the index increased 2.4% between January and February. Meanwhile, the Case-Shiller national home price index increased 19.8% between February 2021 and February, up from the previous month. This represented the third-largest pace of home-price appreciation in the Case-Shiller report's history.

Existing-home sales decreased 2.7% between February and March, dropping to a seasonally-adjusted, annual rate of 5.77 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. Compared to a year ago, sales were down 4.5%. Economists polled by MarketWatch had projected existing-home sales to come in at 5.75 million.

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U.S. home builders started construction on homes at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of roughly 1.79 million in March, representing a 0.3% increase from the upwardly-revised figures for the previous month, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday. Compared with March 2021, housing starts were up nearly 4%. Meanwhile, permitting for new homes occurred at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of roughly 1.87 million, up 0.4% from February and 6.7% from a year ago. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected housing starts to occur at a median pace of 1.73 million and building permits to come in at a median pace of 1.82 million.