US stocks slip as weak Amazon sales forecast clouds the outlook for tech giants

• US stocks sipped on Friday as weak sales forecast from Amazon clouds the outlook for Big Tech.
• The PCE inflation gauge rose 0.5% in June, showing prices continued to rise amid supply chain distortions.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 1.251%, down by 1.8 basis points.

US stocks slipped Friday as a weak sales forecast from Amazon clouds the outlook for technology stocks.

On Thursday after the market close, Amazon's quarterly earnings fell short of expectations, as the Seattle-based firm missed quarterly sales estimates for the first time since 2018. Its sales and profit forecasts were below expectations, further worrying investors about the economic outlook. Shares of the ecommerce giant slipped about 7% at the opening bell.

Tech giants have been some of the pandemic's biggest winners. However, Amazon's latest report underscores the challenge of keeping the strong pace of sales as the economy reopens.

"Consumers' online shopping levels are returning normal as they shift some spending to other entertainment sources and offline shopping," Dan Romanoff, equity analyst at Morningstar, said in a note. "We see no cracks in the long-term story as Amazon remains well-positioned to prosper from the secular shift toward e-commerce and the public cloud over the next decade."

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,392.96, down 0.59%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,008.23, down 0.22% (76.30 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 14,632.70, down 1.01%

US stocks in recent weeks have climbed mostly higher as investors cheered robust corporate earnings and the accelerating pace of global economic recovery. The COVID-19 Delta variant, along with inflationary concerns, have dampened the positive sentiment.

Still, the benchmark S&P 500 is on track to close out a sixth straight month of gains.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 1.251%, down by 1.8 basis points.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index - a closely monitored measure of nationwide inflation - gained 0.5% last month, suggesting that prices continued to climb amid supply chain issues across the US.

The reading exceeded the median estimate of a 0.4% increase from economists surveyed by Bloomberg. It also matched the May print of 0.5% growth.

Oil prices were mixed. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.16%, to $73.50 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, increased 0.9%, to $76.12 per barrel.

Gold slipped 0.41% to $1,823.04 per ounce.