Wall Street slips as oil falls, Dow drops 100+ points, S&P 500 nears end of 9-day winning streak

US stock futures pointed toward losses as Wall Street opened on Monday, with major indices retreating amid a decline in oil prices and a rally in gold. The broader market faced pressure as traders reacted to shifting dynamics in global commodities, geopolitical tensions, and concerns over economic growth.
At 9:33 am GMT-4, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was down by 171.37 points, or 0.41%, trading at 41,146.06. The Nasdaq dropped 141.64 points, or 0.79%, to 17,836.09, while the S&P 500 decreased 43.6 points, or 0.77%, reaching 5,643.07.
On the commodities front, gold saw a significant rise, climbing 83.3 points or 2.57%, to reach 3,326.6. The precious metal’s rally comes as investors flock to safer assets amid mounting market volatility. In contrast, oil prices saw further declines, with US crude falling 0.89 points, or 1.53%, to 57.4, following an announcement from OPEC+ that it plans to boost output by 411,000 barrels per day starting June 1.
Meanwhile, the US 10-year Treasury yield edged higher by 0.006 to 4.326, reflecting slight upward pressure in the bond market, while the Euro gained 0.006 against the US dollar, rising to 1.136, a 0.54% increase.
Investor sentiment also saw a spike in the VIX, the volatility index, which jumped 1.37 points or 6.04%, to 24.05, indicating growing uncertainty as market conditions remain volatile.
Earlier, Futures for the S&P 500 slid 0.9%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 0.7%, and Nasdaq futures fell 1.1%.
Berkshire Hathaway shares dropped by 3% after the surprise announcement over the weekend that CEO Warren Buffett would step down from the top role by the end of the year.
The board of directors at the cash-rich conglomerate voted on Sunday to retain the 94-year-old Buffett as chairman, a decision likely to reassure investors concerned about Berkshire’s remarkable winning streak under his leadership of over six decades.
US benchmark crude oil saw a sharp decline of 4% overnight but recovered somewhat by early morning, falling 94 cents to $57.35 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 83 cents to $60.46 per barrel.
The OPEC+ group of eight oil-producing nations announced on the weekend that it would raise its output by 411,000 barrels per day starting June 1. The decision was attributed to strong fundamentals, though analysts speculated that it could also be aimed at aligning with US President Donald Trump’s desires for lower oil prices, particularly ahead of his visit to the Middle East later this month.
Oil prices have fallen nearly 20% in the past three months as traders have factored in the potential impact of Trump’s trade policies on the global economy. Trump has made delivering lower gas prices a central talking point of his administration.
“Washington wants cheap energy, and Gulf producers still lean on US security guarantees; the White House bears down, they listen,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
“In that sense, the US president has become an unofficial swing vote inside OPEC+,” he added.
US crude oil is down about 17% for the year, hitting lows not seen since the US was recovering from the brief but sharp COVID-19 recession in early 2021. According to AAA, the average price of gasoline is $3.17 per gallon, down from $3.66 per gallon a year ago. However, prices are falling to a point where many producers are struggling to turn a profit.
Late Sunday, President Trump announced on social media that he would impose a 100% tariff on all movies entering the US that are produced overseas. While it is common for both large and small films to involve production in the US and other countries, the specifics of how these tariffs would be implemented remain unclear.
Shares of The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. Discovery each fell more than 2% after hours. Netflix dropped 4.5% before the bell.
The US economy has already shown signs of strain due to Trump’s tariff policies, shrinking at a 0.3% annual rate during the first quarter of the year. This slowdown was attributed to a surge in imports as businesses tried to anticipate the impact of Trump’s tariffs.
Many companies have been revising or withdrawing financial forecasts due to uncertainty over the costs of tariffs and their potential to depress consumer spending.
Markets were closed in Britain and much of Asia on Monday.
Germany’s DAX rose 0.7%, while the CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.6%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 1% to 8,157.80, and Taiwan’s Taiex declined by 1.2%.
The US dollar weakened to 143.83 Japanese yen from 144.71 yen.
The euro climbed to $1.1344 from $1.1306.
On Friday, Wall Street extended its gains to a ninth consecutive day, marking its longest winning streak since 2004. The market has reclaimed much of the ground lost following President Trump’s escalation of the trade war in early April.
Heading into Monday’s open, the S&P 500 is still down 3.3% year-to-date and remains 7.4% below its record high from February.