The Dow suffered losses over the week primarily due to a continual decline in Apple’s shares while oil prices remained volatile. The index declined on Monday following a decline in oil prices and weak earnings results and guidance. The index increased on Tuesday following a rally in oil prices. The index moved higher on Wednesday following an oil price rally, Fed’s policy statement and a slump in tech stocks. The index declined on Thursday due to the continuing slump in Apple’s stocks. The Dow has lost 0.9% over the first four trading days of the week.Last Week’s PerformanceThe index increased 0.1% last Friday despite lower-than-expected earnings results from Microsoft Corporation MSFT. Microsoft’s shares fell 7.2%, registering its worst one-day fall since Jan 27, 2015, following lower-than-expected earnings results. Shares of Alphabet Inc. GOOGL slumped 5.4%, following weaker-than-expected earnings reports.However, an oil price rally helped boost energy stocks, which in turn had a positive impact on key U.S. indexes. Oil prices increased following a fall in U.S. rig count and slump in U.S. oil production. Baker Hughes BHI reported that U.S. oil rig count posted its fifth straight weekly drop, declining from 351 to 343. Dow components Chevron Corp CVX and Exxon Mobil Corp XOM rose 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively.The index advanced 0.6% over last week. Gains in energy and financials stocks had a positive impact on key U.S. indexes. Moreover, rally in oil prices for the week also boosted investor sentiment. However, slump in technology stocks dragged down the Nasdaq. Oil prices posted third straight weekly gains due to a weaker-than-expected rise in U.S. crude inventories, rise in gasoline consumption and worldwide outages. The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) home builder sentiment index remained flat in April.The Dow This WeekThe index declined 0.2% on Monday following a decline in oil prices and weak earnings results and guidance. Oil price declined following worries over the rise in global crude production. After the end of the three-day oil worker strike in Kuwait recently, its crude production increased to 3 million barrels per day (bpd).Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will reportedly increase the capacity of the Shaybah oilfield from 750,000 bpd to 1 million bpd by next month. Chevron and Exxon Mobil fell 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively.Shares of Perrigo Company plc PRGO slumped 18.1% following a weak outlook and the resignation of its CEO Joseph Papa. Additionally, Xerox Corporation’s XRX shares fell 13.3%, witnessing the biggest one-day decline since Sep 2009 following dismal earnings. New home sales fell by 1.5% from February to 511,000 in March.The index increased 0.1% on Tuesday following a rally in oil prices. Oil prices rallied during the day after the dollar fell following a lower-than-expected rise in durable orders. Also, gasoline prices increased following a slump in gasoline inventories and disruptions in refinery units in the U.S. Gulf Coast market. Chevron and Exxon Mobil rose 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively.Shares of Apple Inc. AAPL fell 0.7% following speculation that iPhone sales are likely to witness their first ever year-on-year decline. Meanwhile, durable orders increased 0.8% in March to $230.7 billion, in contrast to a decline of 3.1% in February. Consumer Confidence Index declined to 94.2 in April from 96.2 in March.E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company’s DD shares increased 2.4% following encouraging earnings numbers. However, shares of Procter & Gamble Company PG fell 2.3% after the company tightened its core earnings per share (EPS) guidance for the full year.The index gained 0.3% on Wednesday following an oil price rally, Fed’s policy statement and a slump in tech stocks. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to keep interest flat within the 0.25 and 0.5 percent range, and expected “only gradual increases in the federal funds rate.”Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose 2 million barrels to a peak level of 540.6 million for the week ended April 22. Despite a rise in crude inventories, oil prices increased during the day after the dollar weakened following the Fed’s decision to keep rates unchanged.Chevron advanced 1.5%. Separately, another Dow component, Exxon Mobil shares increased 1% to $88.46, reaching its highest level since May 2015. Shares of the company increased after raising its dividend from 73 cents to 75 cents for the first quarter which will be paid to its shareholders on Jun 10.Shares of Apple slumped 6.3% after iPhone sales witnessed their first year-on-year decline ever and its China sales dropped, which negatively impacted fiscal second quarter earnings results. However, shares of The Boeing Company BA rose 2.9% on better-than-expected first quarter revenue results.The index lost 1.2% on Thursday following a continuing slump in Apple’s shares. Moreover, Bank of Japan’s decision not to reduce interest rates further or introduce any new stimulus measure had a negative impact on investor sentiment. The Dow fell by more than 1% for the first time since Feb 23 and by more than 200 points since Feb 11.Shares of Apple slumped 3.1% after activist investor Carl Icahn sold his entire stake in Apple following the company’s inability to boost sales. The tech giant registered its sixth straight session of declines for the first time in three years.Moreover, Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept its interest rates unchanged and announced no new stimulus measures to control the yen’s movement. Consequently, the yen increased almost 4% against the dollar to 108.12 yen. A stronger yen dragged the Nikkei 225 3.6% lower, which in turn had an adverse impact on global markets.The “advance” estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that first quarter output of goods and services increased at an annual rate of 0.5%, lower than the consensus estimate of a 0.6% increase. This is the slowest pace at which GDP has increased in the first quarter in two years.Components Moving the IndexApple earnings of $1.90 per share not only declined 18.5% year over year, but also fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.97. Revenues of $50.6 billion were also below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $51.5 billion and down approximately 12.8% from the year-ago quarter.Apple iPhone unit sales came in at about 51.2 million, down 16% year over year. For the third quarter of fiscal 2016, Apple forecasts revenues in the range of $41 billion to $43 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged higher at $45.6 billion.Boeing delivered first-quarter 2016 adjusted earnings of $1.74 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.81 by 3.9%. The company's revenues increased 2% year over year to $22.63 billion in the reported quarter. The reported figure was also ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $21.24 billion. Boeing reaffirmed its adjusted or core earnings per share expectation in the range of $8.15−$8.35 for 2016.DuPont logged adjusted earnings of $1.26 per share in the reported quarter, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.02. DuPont raked in net sales of $7,405 million for the quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7,202 million. DuPont expects operating earnings of $3.05 to $3.20 per share for 2016, up from an earlier view of $2.95 to $3.10 per share.3M Company MMM reported relatively solid first-quarter 2016 results with GAAP earnings of $1,275 million or $2.05 per share compared with $1,199 million or $1.85 per share in the year-earlier quarter. Reported earnings comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92.Net sales during the quarter were $7,409 million, down 2.2% year over year but ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7,317 million. For 2016, the company anticipates GAAP earnings in the range of $8.10 to $8.45 per share.Caterpillar Inc.’s CAT first-quarter 2016 adjusted earnings plunged 68% to 67 cents per share. Earnings, however, came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues plummeted 26% year over year to $9.461 billion in the quarter, and failed to meet the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9.499 billion.General Electric Company’s GE reported first-quarter operating earnings of $0.5 billion or 6 cents a share versus an operating loss of $4.1 billion or loss of 41 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. Operating earnings for the reported quarter were in sync with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.Total consolidated revenue for the reported quarter came in at $27,845 million, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $28,976 million. The company anticipates operating earnings in 2016 to be within $1.45-$1.55 a share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 is currently pegged at $1.51.Microsoft reported third quarter 2016 earnings per share of 62 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 63 cents. Reported revenue of $20.53 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.0%. Management said that exchange rates would have a negative 3-point impact on revenue growth in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016.The Procter & Gamble Company’s third quarter adjusted earnings of 86 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 81 cents by 6.2%. P&G’s net sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.73 billion by 0.2%. The company now expects core EPS to decline 3-6% as against the previously guided decline range of 3–8%.United Technologies Corporation UTX reported first-quarter 2016 adjusted net income of $1,222 million or $1.47 per share compared with $1,301 million or $1.44 per share in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings for the reported quarter comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.39.Net sales for first-quarter 2016 slightly improved to $13,357 million from $13,320 million in the year-earlier quarter. For 2016, the company expects adjusted earnings to be in the range of $6.30 to $6.60 per share on revenues of $56 billion to $58 billion with organic growth of 1–3%.Performance of the Top 10 Dow CompaniesThe table given below shows the price movements of the 10 largest components of the Dow, which is a price weighted index, over the last five days and during the last six months. Over the last five trading days, the Dow has declined by 0.3%.TickerLast 5 Day’s Performance6-Month PerformanceMMM-1.2%+6%GS-0.3%-13.5%IBM-1%+4.6%HD-1.2%+7.4%BA+3%-8.4%UNH-0.6%+10.3%MCD+1.8%+13.6%TRV+0.2%-4.5%JNJ-0.8%+11%AAPL-10%-21.3% Next Week’s OutlookApple was the major reason for the Dow’s decline this week. A series of events led to the shares of the iPhone maker moving lower, which weighed on the index. Meanwhile, oil prices remain volatile and continue to exert a significant influence on market proceedings. Economic data has been mostly mixed in nature even though GDP data was particularly disappointing.However, Fed has provided the much needed reassurance to investors that it will raise rates only gradually and after a close assessment of the economic situation. Its decisions will continue to be data dependent and a slew of crucial reports are scheduled for release over the next few days.This includes reports on personal spending, manufacturing, services, construction spending and factory orders. These are likely to influence markets to some extent. Meanwhile, key earnings results will also determine the direction which markets take to a significant degree. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BOEING CO (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report DU PONT (EI) DE (DD): Free Stock Analysis Report APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report 3M CO (MMM): Free Stock Analysis Report UTD TECHS CORP (UTX): Free Stock Analysis Report GENL ELECTRIC (GE): Free Stock Analysis Report CATERPILLAR INC (CAT): Free Stock Analysis Report PERRIGO CO PLC (PRGO): Free Stock Analysis Report XEROX CORP (XRX): Free Stock Analysis Report BAKER-HUGHES (BHI): Free Stock Analysis Report CHEVRON CORP (CVX): Free Stock Analysis Report EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report PROCTER & GAMBL (PG): Free Stock Analysis Report ALPHABET INC-A (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research