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Investing.com — U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday after disappointing outlooks from tech giants Amazon and Apple.
At 9:35 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 103 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.8% and the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.7%.
The reports late Thursday from the tech giants set a downbeat tone. Shares of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 10% in premarket trading after reporting first quarter earnings that were hit by higher costs and issuing a disappointing outlook for the current quarter. And Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell 1% after also issuing a cautious outlook on the current quarter.
April has been a dismal month for stocks, which are on their way to finishing the month on a downtrend. Not only did investors have to absorb the certainty of upcoming interest rate hikes amid persistent inflation, there were fresh outbreaks of Covid-19 in China that threatened to stall global economic growth, and Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. On the last trading day of the month, the Dow is down 2% in April, the S&P is down more than 5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is down more than 9%.
In economic data, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, a measure closely watched by the Federal Reserve as its key gauge of inflation, rose 5.2% in March from one year ago, slightly below the 5.3% gain in February and the 5.3% expected. The PCE is a reading of what consumers pay for a wide variety of items. From February to March, the PCE rose 0.3%, which met expectations. Economists said the readings could demonstrate that inflation is leveling off.
The Fed is likely to raise interest rates next week by a half-point, a larger than usual rate move, as it tries to tame inflation. Friday’s PCE number is unlikely to dissuade it.
Oil prices have been another factor for investors, and Friday includes quarterly reports from two oil majors. Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) missed expectations despite doubling its first-quarter profit per share. Its results fell short of Wall Street’s forecast even without the $3.4 billion write-off from its withdrawal from Russia. Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX)’s profit soared to $6.3 billion, compared with $1.4 billion in the same quarter last year.
Crude Oil WTI Futures rose 1.3%, to just over $106 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futurescrude rose 1.5%, to $108.88 a barrel. Gold Futures rose 0.9% to $1908 an ounce.
