Wall Street slides as Intel leads sell-off, earnings and pandemic weigh

Wall Street retreated on Friday as weak earnings sparked a pre-weekend selloff that was also fed by surging coronavirus cases and geopolitical uncertainties.

For the second day in a row, the tech sector weighed heaviest on all three major US stock averages. Intel Corp led the sell-off, with its shares plunging 15.7 per cent after the chipmaker reported a delay in production of a smaller, faster 7-nonometer chip.

"Investors have made so much money in these tech stocks in the last few weeks, the moment they see any sign of weakness they're taking profits," said Oliver Pursche, president of Bronson Meadows Capital Management in Fairfield Connecticut.

Each index was on track for a weekly loss, with the S&P 500 and the Dow snapping three-week winning streaks and the tech-heavy Nasdaq on course for its biggest weekly decline in July.

The retreat followed a rally that brought the S&P 500 to nearly 5 per cent below its record high reached in February. The bellwether index is now near break-even for the year, while the Nasdaq has gained more than 15 per cent year-to-date.

"It's profit taking and general anxiety," Pursche added.

"Investors are nervous about the GDP number next week and earnings coming out."

Momentum stocks Apple, Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com are scheduled to post results on July 30, the day the US Commerce Department is due to give its first take on second-quarter GDP. 

Economists projected the economy dropped by a bruising 35 per cent during the three-month period.

More than 1,000 Americans died from Covid-19 on Thursday, the third straight day for that grim milestone as total cases surged past 4 million.

Beijing fired back at Washington shuttering China's Houston consulate by closing the US consulate in the city of Chengdu.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 131.78 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 26,520.55, the S&P 500 lost 14.85 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 3,220.81 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 61.79 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 10,399.63.

Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, all but consumer discretionary were in the red.

Healthcare was the biggest percentage loser, dropping 1.1 per cent ahead of executive orders by President Donald Trump aimed at lowering drug prices.

Second-quarter earnings season charges ahead, with 128 constituents of the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 80.5 per cent have cleared a very low bar of analyst expectations.

American Express Co fell 0.9 per cent after reporting an 85 per cent slump in quarterly profit after setting aside nearly $628 million to cover potential defaults.

Verizon Communications Inc's beat analyst profit and revenue estimates as the telecom saw strong demand due to stay-at-home mandates, boosting its shares by 1.4 per cent.

Honeywell International Inc's cost-cutting efforts resulted in better-than-expected second-quarter profit despite a sharp decline in its aerospace segment.Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc jumped 16.1per cent.

Tesla Inc extended Thursday's losses, falling 4.2 per cent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.03-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.52-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 8 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 21 new highs and 19 new lows.