AP , Monday 3 Apr 2023

Wall Street is starting the second quarter nearly flat as losses by utilities and the technology sector offset big gains in energy stocks.

The S&P 500 is down less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq is off 0.5% at the open Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.3%.

Exxon and Chevron soared nearly 4% after Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers said they’ll cut production by 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the year. That sent oil up nearly 6% as of 9:35 a.m. ET. Investors worry that higher prices for gas and other fuels could add to upward pressure on inflation.

Oil prices soared nearly 6% on Monday after Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers said they will cut production by 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the year. Shares in Asia were mixed.

U.S. benchmark crude oil rose $4.24 to $79.91 per barrel, or 5.6%, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose $1.30 to $75.67 per barrel on Friday, ahead of the weekend meeting where members of the so-called OPEC+ group of oil exporting countries decided on the cuts, which are in addition to a reduction announced last October that infuriated the Biden administration.

Brent crude, the pricing basis for international oils, gained $4.35 to $84.24 per barrel, or 5.4%.

The cuts in oil output immediately pushed prices higher and were expected to boost gas prices, adding to strains in many countries where high fuel prices are a heavy burden. Higher oil prices also will complicate the efforts by central banks to rein in inflation.

This article was originally published by The Associated Press (AP).