Global Markets: Wall Street falls as tech shares lag

Global Markets: US stocks ended lower as major tech shares pulled back, weighing on the market. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 182.44 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 26,469.89. The S&P 500 decreased 20.03 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 3,215.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 98.24 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 10,363.18, Xinhua news agency reported.

Intel shares plunged more than 16 per cent, leading the laggards in the Dow. The US chipmaker reported second-quarter results that topped estimates on Thursday, but also offered downbeat guidance for the third quarter.

Shares of other major US tech giants such as Facebook, Apple and Google-parent Alphabet also struggled.

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The S&P 500 tech sector closed down 1.19 per cent, the worst-performing group.

US-listed Chinese companies traded roughly flat, with five of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P US Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

Investors remained cautious amid a continued spike in coronavirus infections in the United States and they were also worried about US-China tensions, experts noted.

The United States hit a new virus milestone Thursday with confirmed COVID-19 cases topping 4 million. As of Friday afternoon, more than 4.08 million cases have been reported in the country, with about 145,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.