Stocks retreated for the second day in a row after sparkling gains last week, this time on renewed concerns about technology company earnings.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 33.85 points -- or by 0.3 per cent - at 9,693.76, after swinging widely throughout the session.

The Dow index gained as much as 71 points then sank by as much as 57, before trimming its losses.

The trouble for technology stocks began before the market opened, as microchip maker Advanced Micro Devices said late on Monday that it expected a "significant" first-quarter loss because of production problems with its best line of microprocessors, and that it will cut 300 jobs over the next six months.

AMD shares sank and rumours circulated that Intel, for example, would also report disappointing first-quarter results.

The Standard & Poor's 500 declined 2.89 to 1,279.84, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index shed 4.68 to 2,392.94.