US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow dip as Buffett dumps airlines, China tensions flare

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* Pompeo says "significant evidence" virus emerged from lab
* Airlines fall as Buffet dumps stakes; Boeing also down
* Tyson drops after sales warning
* Indexes mixed: Dow off 0.53%, S&P 500 off 0.15%, Nasdaq up
0.63%

(Updates to open)
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Medha Singh
May 4 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes
retreated on Monday following a U.S.-China spat about the
origins of the coronavirus outbreak, while major carriers
slumped after billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway
dumped its stakes in the sector.
Delta Air Lines DAL.N , American Airlines Co AAL.O ,
Southwest Airlines Co LUV.N and United Airlines UAL.O fell
between 6.7% and 8.4%, after Buffett told reporters of the move
over the weekend, saying "the world has changed" for the
industry. Berkshire's BRKa.N announcement also shaved more than 1.9%
off planemaker Boeing Co's BA.N shares. The S&P 1500 airlines
sub-index .SPCOMAIR plunged 5.1% and was on track for its
worst day more than a month.
Berkshire itself posted a record loss of nearly $50 billion,
sending its shares down 2% and weighing heavily on the
financials sector.
Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives
for Charles Schwab in Austin, said Buffett's relatively bleak
reading of the market had hit home with investors.
"I did not get the sense that he sees an enormous amount of
opportunity out there right now, but is instead holding up a
very high level of cash," he said.
Nine of the major 11 S&P 500 sectors were trading lower,
also pressured by comments from U.S. Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo that there was "a significant amount of evidence" the new
coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory. An editorial in
China's Global Times said he was "bluffing". All three major stock indexes clawed back more than 11% in
April, but the rally is likely to be tested in the coming weeks
with investors trying to gauge the pace of an economic recovery
as states start emerging from lockdowns.
Data on Monday showed new orders for U.S.-made goods fell
more than expected in March and could sink further as the health
crisis upends supply chains and exports. "When you think how nervous markets got about the U.S.-China
trade war then if this theme continues you can't help thinking
that the end game is far worse than it would be from a simple
trade war," said Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank.
At 10:18 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 126.91 points, or 0.53%, at 23,596.78 and the S&P 500
.SPX was down 4.17 points, or 0.15%, at 2,826.54. However, the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 54.43 points, or 0.63%, at
8,659.38.
With more than half of the S&P 500 companies having reported
earnings so far, analysts now see first-quarter S&P 500 earnings
falling 12.7% from a year ago, and an even sharper 37.8% decline
for the second quarter.
Tyson Foods Inc TSN.N tumbled 7.5% as the company said it
would temporarily close plants as needed and expects meat sales
to fall in the second half of this year as shutdowns hammer
restaurants and other food outlets. Declining issues nearly matched advancers on the NYSE and
the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and three new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 11 new highs and eight new lows.