US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow drop as Buffett ditches airlines, China tensions flare

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* Pompeo says "significant evidence" virus emerged from lab
* Airlines tumble as Berkshire exits
* Tyson drops after results miss
* Shares of tech titans buoy Nasdaq
* Dow down 0.7%, S&P 500 falls 0.3%, Nasdaq up 0.39%

(Updates to mid afternoon)
By Lewis Krauskopf
May 4 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow Jones dropped for the
third session on Monday following a U.S.-China dispute over the
origins of the coronavirus outbreak and a move by billionaire
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to dump stakes in major U.S.
airlines.
Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N , American Airlines
Group Inc AAL.O , Southwest Airlines Co LUV.N and United
Airlines Holdings Inc UAL.O fell between 7% and 10% and were
among the biggest decliners on the S&P 500 after Buffett said
"the world has changed" for the aviation industry. Shares of Berkshire itself fell 3.0% and weighed on the S&P
500 after the conglomerate posted a record quarterly net loss of
nearly $50 billion. Buffett, whose comments are closely followed by investors,
acknowledged at Berkshire's annual meeting on Saturday that the
global pandemic could significantly damage the economy and his
investments. “His narrative was relatively sober compared to his posture
over the years," said Emily Roland, co-chief investment
strategist at John Hancock Investment Management. “His comments
were relatively cautious compared to what we have heard from him
before.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 166.92 points,
or 0.7%, to 23,556.77, and the S&P 500 .SPX lost 8.36 points,
or 0.30%, to 2,822.35.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 33.18 points, or 0.39%,
to 8,638.13, helped by gains in shares of Microsoft MSFT.O and
Amazon AMZN.O .
A massive rebound in stocks fueled by monetary and fiscal
stimulus has paused in recent days as investors watch whether
the number of states easing restrictions designed to stop the
outbreak leads to a resurgence in virus cases.
A flare-up in U.S.-China tensions presents another challenge
to the market. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday
there was "a significant amount of evidence" that the new
coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory. An editorial in
China's Global Times said he was "bluffing". Investors are also digesting a difficult corporate results
season. With more than half of S&P 500 companies reporting
results so far, first-quarter earnings are expected to have
fallen 12.5%, according to Refinitiv data.
“There is still a lot of uncertainty, a lot of companies
scrapping guidance, and I think that is contributing to the
murky environment for equities,” Roland said.
Shares of Tyson Foods Inc TSN.N tumbled 9.1% after the
company said the coronavirus crisis will continue to idle U.S.
meat plants and slow production as it reported
lower-than-expected earnings and revenue for the quarter.

Data on Monday showed new orders for U.S.-made goods
suffered a record decline in March and could sink further as
disruptions from the coronavirus fracture supply chains and
depress exports. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
2.09-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.53-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and three new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 13 new highs and 12 new lows.