Financial Markets                      05/05 09:39

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks fell in morning trading on Wall Street Monday and 
oil prices fell to a four-year low as the OPEC+ group announced plans to boost 
output.

   The S&P 500 fell 0.7%. The benchmark index is coming off of its ninth 
straight gain.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 164 points, or 0.4% as of 9:56 a.m. 
Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.8%.

   The losses were broad. Roughly 75 percent of stocks and every sector within 
the S&P 500 lost ground.

   Berkshire Hathaway fell 5.5% for one of the market's bigger losses. 
Legendary investor Warren Buffett announced over the weekend that he would step 
down as CEO by the end of the year after six decades at the helm. He will 
remain chairman of the board of directors.

   The OPEC+ group of eight oil producing nations announced over the weekend 
that it will raise its output by 411,000 barrels per day as of June 1. U.S. 
benchmark crude oil fell as much as 4% overnight before moderating.

   U.S. crude oil prices fell 1.5% to $57.42 per barrel. Many producers can no 
longer turn a profit once oil falls below $60. Prices are down sharply for the 
year over worries about an economic slowdown. Energy companies fell. Exxon 
Mobil lost 2.4%.

   Markets are coming off another winning week as they absorb the shock of 
tariffs and a growing trade war. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on 
a wide range of imports, sparking global retaliation. Many of the more severe 
tariffs that were supposed to go into effect in April were delayed by three 
months, with the notable exception of tariffs against China.

   The delays have provided some relief to Wall Street, though uncertainty 
about the impact from current and future tariffs continues to hang over markets 
and the economy. That uncertainty will overshadow the Federal Reserve's meeting 
this week.

   The Fed is expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday. 
It cut the rate three times in 2024 before taking a more cautious stance. The 
central bank was concerned that inflation, while easing, was still stubbornly 
hovering just above its target rate of 2%. Concerns about inflation reigniting 
have only grown amid the global trade war sparked by Trump's tariff policy.

   Trump's rapidly shifting policies on trade have kept the central bank and 
markets on edge. Tariffs have been imposed, only to be pulled or delayed, 
sometimes on a daily basis. The on-again-off-again approach has left 
businesses, households and economists at a loss in trying to forecast where the 
economy might be headed and to plan accordingly.

   Treasury yields were relatively stable. The yield on the 10-year Treasury 
rose to 4.32% from 4.31% late Friday.

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   AP business writers Jiang Junzhe and Matt Ott contributed to this story.

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