US STOCKS-Wall Street closes lower as Intel dives, earnings and pandemic weigh

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By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street retreated on
Friday, heading into the weekend with a broad sell-off due to
weak earnings, surging coronavirus cases and geopolitical
uncertainties.
For the second day in a row, the tech sector weighed
heaviest on all three major U.S. stock averages. Intel Corp
INTC.O led the decline, its shares plunging after the
chipmaker reported a delay in production of a smaller, faster
7-nonometer chip. "There's a skittishness ahead of the weekend after
yesterday's tech and growth sell-off," said Ryan Detrick, senior
market strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"It's been an unbelievable ride for the Nasdaq and tech over
the last two moths," Detrick added. "A well-deserved correction
makes a lot of sense in our view."
Each index posted a weekly loss, with the S&P 500 and the
Dow snapping three-week winning streaks. Nasdaq had its weakest
week of the last four.
The retreat followed a rally that brought the S&P 500 to
nearly 5% 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% year-to-date.
"With the rally we've seen so far in July, it makes sense to
see anxiety ahead of a huge earnings week, the Fed decision and
what's likely to be the worst GDP in our lifetimes," Detrick
added.
Momentum stocks Apple, Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O and Amazon.com
AMZN.O are scheduled to post results on July 30, the day the
U.S. Commerce Department is due to give its first take on
second-quarter GDP. Analysts projected the economy dropped by a
bruising 35% 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 U.S. consulate in the city of Chengdu.

Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
182.99 points, or 0.69%, to 26,469.34, the S&P 500 .SPX lost
20.04 points, or 0.62%, to 3,215.62 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 98.24 points, or 0.94%, to 10,363.18.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, all but consumer
discretionary .SPLRCD were in the red.
Healthcare .SPXHC lost ground 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%
have cleared a very low bar of analyst expectations.
American Express Co AXP.N fell after reporting an 85%
slump in quarterly profit after setting aside nearly $628
million to cover potential defaults. Verizon Communications Inc VZ.N beat analyst profit and
revenue estimates as the telecom saw strong demand due to
stay-at-home mandates, sending its shares higher. Honeywell International Inc's HON.N 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 AMD.O shares
jumped, while Tesla Inc TSLA.O extended Thursday's losses.