US markets start week cold

U.S. stock indexes retreated slightly Monday following mixed to flat market activity in Asia and Europe. Driving the doldrums, a report from China said imports fell 2.6 percent in August from August 2011. Chinese export growth was a disappointing 2.7 percent over the same period. In early afternoon trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 5.34 points, or 0.04 percent, to 13,301.30. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index shed 19.02 points, or 0.61 percent, to 3,117.40. The Standard and Poor's 500 gave up 2.63 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1,435.29. The benchmark 10-year treasury fell 5/32 to yield 1.691 percent. The euro fell to $1.2783 from Friday's $1.2816. Against the yen, the dollar was unchanged at 78.26 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 255 index rose 0.03 percent, 2.28 points, to 8,869.10. In London, the FTSE 100 index dropped 0.03 percent, 1.60, to 5,793.20.