Shares of banks and other financial institutions slipped as Treasury yields and interest rates remained in focus.

The Fed's annual Jackson Hole meeting takes place later this week, and markets are eager to hear whether policy makers are poised for another interest rate hike in September.

Chinese banks trimmed a benchmark interest rate on loans by a modest margin, a reflection of Beijing's attempts to support a sputtering recovery -and of their reluctance to take more-forceful measures to reverse the slowdown. The rate reduction, while smaller than expected, came days after China's central bank made a surprise cut to one of its key lending rates.

Shares of many Chinese property developers were lower as investor sentiment took a hit after the country's central bank kept its mortgage rate unchanged, exacerbating concerns over problems in the country's property sector.

Meanwhile, rents fell across the U.S. for the third month in a row due to rising supply of apartments. The median asking monthly rent fell by 1% from a year ago in July to $1,759, according to a new report from Realtor.com. A studio cost $1,445 per month, and a one-bedroom was $1,642.

In deal news, Goldman Sachs said it's considering the sale of part of its wealth management division. The New York bank said it's putting its Personal Financial Management unit - which has $29 billion in assets - on the block.

Boaz Weinstein and several other high-profile investors including William Ackman and Marc Lasry have made a rival offer for Sculptor Capital Management, a hedge-fund firm that already agreed to sell itself to another investment firm.


Write to Amy Pessetto at amy.pessetto@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-21-23 1759ET