NEW YORK: Wall Street ended lower on Friday, weighed down by declines in Amazon, Apple and other heavyweight technology stocks, while investors worried about a rise in coronavirus cases tied to the highly contagious Delta variant.

On Thursday, Los Angeles County said it would reimpose its mask mandate this weekend. On Friday, public health officials said U.S. coronavirus cases were up 70% over the previous week, with deaths up 26%.

Cruise lines Carnival Corp and Norwegian Cruise Line both fell about 5%.

"COVID is starting to affect the market, ironically, for the first time since last summer, when the reopening trade began," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Amazon and Apple fell more than 1%. Nvidia lost 4.2%, and the three companies contributed more than any others to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq's declines. The S&P 500 technology sector index lost almost 1%, dipping for a second session after hitting a record on Wednesday. The utilities index rallied 1%, while the real estate index edged up 0.1% and touched an intraday record high.