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

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* As Intel plunges, rival AMD rises
* Drugmakers fall ahead of Trump's pricing order
* Honeywell, American Express dip after earnings reports
* Indexes down: Dow 0.49%, S&P 0.46%, Nasdaq 0.59%

(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) - 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 U.S. stock averages. Intel Corp
INTC.O led the sell-off, with its shares plunging15.7% 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% 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.
"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 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. Economists 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.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 131.78 points,
or 0.49%, to 26,520.55, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 14.85 points, or
0.46%, to 3,220.81 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
61.79 points, or 0.59%, to 10,399.63.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, all but consumer
discretionary .SPLRCD were in the red.
Healthcare .SPXHC was the biggest percentage loser,
dropping 1.1% 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 0.9% after reporting an 85%
slump in quarterly profit after setting aside nearly $628
million to cover potential defaults. Verizon Communications Inc's VZ.N beat analyst profit and
revenue estimates as the telecom saw strong demand due to
stay-at-home mandates, boosting its shares by 1.4%. 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 jumped 16.1%.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O extended Thursday's losses, falling 4.2%.
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.