NEW YORK: US stocks retreated Friday as slower growth in China eclipsed better-than-expected earnings from two big banks and Internet giant Google.
After sharp gains Thursday, Wall Street sentiment also was damped by rising concerns across the Atlantic that Spain and Italy may be the next to succumb to the eurozone debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 84.84 points (0.65 percent) to 12,901.74 by 1400 GMT.
The broader S&P 500 shed 9.09 (0.66 percent) to 1,378.48, while the tech-rich Nasdaq fell 21.37 (0.70 percent) to 3,034.18.
"Looks like the steam has run out of Wall Street's sail," said Karee Venema at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
The company noted that "the last three Friday the 13ths have been down days."
All three main indices accelerated opening losses in the first half hour of trade.
"The US equity markets are under some pressure in early action, in the wake of a slower-than-forecasted pace of economic growth reported out of China, while traders are showing a mixed reaction to the slate of US earnings reports," Charles Schwab & Co. analysts said before the market opened.
The market shrugged off the government's numbers on March inflation that matched expectations. The consumer price index rose 0.3 percent, while the core rate was up 0.2 percent.
In corporate news before the opening bell, banking behemoth JPMorgan Chase announced it made $5.4 billion profit in the first quarter and Wells Fargo posted a first-quarter profit of $4.2 billion.
Both earnings reports beat Wall Street expectations. Shares in JPMorgan Chase fell 2.0 percent and Wells Fargo fell 1.9 percent.
Google reported soaring profits after the market closed Thursday, but investors appeared mixed about its announced stock split. Google shares dropped 2.3 percent to $635.92.
On Thursday, gains on all three key indices topped 1.3 percent as traders grew bullish on fresh economic indicators in the United States, Asia and Europe.
Bond prices rallied. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.01 percent from 2.05 percent Thursday while the 30-year yield dropped to 3.16 percent from 3.21 percent.
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