The Dow lost 182 points. The S&P 500 shed 20. The Nasdaq gave up 98.

Invesco Global Market Strategist Brian Levitt points out: Investors are reassessing the risk they may have been too optimistic about state reopenings and containing the virus.

"If we are now going to go backwards for a bit of time to try and get this more under control than that should weigh on the markets. It's a sort of live by the sword, die by the sword type of scenario. Markets recover when mobility troughs, markets may have some volatility when mobility peaks and rolls over, and that's precisely what we're dealing with right now."

Intel was the tech wreck du jour. The stock was slammed - down 16 percent after the company said it was six months behind schedule on its next-generation, power-efficient chip technology.

Outside the tech sector, bad news from American Express. The credit card company saw an 85 percent plunge in quarterly profits as the shutdown put credit card spending on ice. The Dow component finished lower.

The housing sector, however, continues to be a standout in a wobbly economy. Data released for June showed the biggest spike in new home sales in nearly 13 years. Like the rest of the housing market, demand is being fueled by historically low interest rates and a shift away from people-packed cities to less-dense suburban areas. But economists worry record high unemployment could eventually dampen sales.

And gold prices were in focus. The precious metal jumped above $1900 an ounce for the first time since 2011. Traders say investors are starting to hide out in the perceived safety of gold - - as geopolitical tensions rise between the U.S. and China.