US stocks plunged on Friday, fully erasing August gains after Chairman Jerome Powell reassured markets that the Fed will keep interest rates at a restrictive territory until inflation is brought down to the 2% level. In his speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, Powell noted that restoring price stability could require a sustained period of lower growth and that labor market conditions will likely soften. In the meantime, personal spending figures for July missed expectations, further reducing hopes that the Fed can achieve a soft landing as policy tightens. The Dow plummeted 1,000 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq tanked 3.4% and 3.9%, respectfully. Tech giants booked the sharpest losses, closing at one-month lows with a near 9% plunge for Nvidia and 5% drop for Alphabet. On the week, the three main equity averages lost more than 4%, notching the second consecutive weekly decline.