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