Wall Street ended lower on Friday (Saturday AEST), with all three major indexes posting weekly losses as a selloff in artificial intelligence-linked semiconductor stocks broadened into a wider retreat across the market, dampening investor risk appetite.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 406.6 points, or 0.8%, to 52,146.4. The S&P 500 lost 76.1 points, or 1%, to 7,457.7, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 361.7 points, or 1.4%, to 25,520.2.
For the week, the Dow declined 0.9%, the S&P 500 lost 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite shed 2.9%.
Semiconductor stocks, which have led the broader market higher in recent months, were at the centre of the decline before selling pressure spread to other sectors as the session progressed.
Investors have started reassessing the outlook for the artificial intelligence sector, with some active fund managers reducing exposure amid expectations that the industry's near-trillion-dollar investment boom could begin to moderate, according to a Reuters analysis.
Among the Magnificent Seven technology giants, Meta Platforms fell 2.7%, Alphabet lost 3.2%, Nvidia declined 2.2%, and Microsoft eased 1.8%.
Apple bucked the trend, edging up 0.1%.
Second-quarter earnings season remained supportive overall despite the market weakness. With around 10% of S&P 500 companies having reported results, 88% have delivered earnings per share above analysts' expectations, while 85% have exceeded revenue forecasts, according to FactSet's Earnings Insight.
Netflix plunged 7.3% after issuing a weaker-than-expected earnings outlook, fuelling concerns that its recent content-driven growth momentum may be fading.
Uber Technologies declined 2.1% after announcing plans to acquire Germany's Delivery Hero in a deal valued at nearly US$15 billion.
Economic data painted a mixed picture. U.S. consumer sentiment rose to a five-month high in July, while single-family housing starts and building permits declined.
Industrial production increased by a modest 0.1%, suggesting manufacturing activity remained subdued.
On the bond markets, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury slipped 0.2% to 4.549%, while the two-year Treasury yield rose 0.9% to 4.183%.
