By Liz Moyer

Investing.com — U.S. stocks closed lower Friday following disappointing outlooks by tech giants Apple and Amazon.

At 9:35 AM ET the index fell by 103 points (or 0.3%), while the declined 0.8%, and the plummeted 0.7%.

Late Thursday’s reports from tech companies set a negative tone. Amazon.com Inc. shares fell 10% premarket after it reported its first quarter earnings. The company also issued a disappointing outlook on the quarter. Apple Inc (NASDAQ) shares dropped 1% following a more cautious outlook for the current quarter.

Stocks have been in a bad month, and are currently on the verge of ending April on a downward trend. The uncertainty surrounding future interest rates amid high inflation meant that investors had to take in the risk. In addition, Covid-19 outbreaks in China threatened global economic growth and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. 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%.

The, which is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve and its main gauge of inflation, increased 5.2% in March by 1.3% from the previous year. This was slightly lower than the 5.3% increase in February, but still higher than the expected 5.3%. The PCE measures what consumers are willing to pay for various items. The PCE increased 0.3% from February to March. This was in line with expectations. Economists believe that the figures could show that inflation is at a plateau.

In an attempt to curb inflation, it is expected that the Fed will raise interest rates next Wednesday by one-half point. It is not likely that Friday’s PCE numbers will dissuade the Fed.

Investors have also been affected by oil prices. Friday’s report includes quarterly reports from the two major oil companies. Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:) missed expectations despite doubling its first-quarter profit per share. Even without the $3.4 Billion write-off due to Russia’s withdrawal, its results were below Wall Street’s expectations. Chevron Corp’s profit rose to $6.3 Billion, up from $1.4 billion during the same quarter last fiscal year.

Crude oil rose 1.3% to slightly over $106 per barrel while it rose 1.5% to $108.88 per barrel. 1.9% increase to $1908 per ounce