US Stocks stumble early

U.S. stock indexes slipped early Monday, with investors focused on Europe's financial crisis. A spokesman for the European Central Bank was quoted as saying rumors of the ECB buying government bonds was "absolutely misleading," The Wall Street Journal reported. Stocks were flat in most of Europe, although benchmark yields for 10-year government bonds retreated slightly in Spain and Italy, Tradeweb said. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 38.40 points or 0.29 percent to 13,236.80. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index shed 16.58 points or 0.54 percent to 3,060.01. The Standard and Poor's 500 gave up 5.58 points or 0.39 percent to 1,412.58. The benchmark 10-year treasury rose 5/32, yielding 1.801 percent. Against the euro, the dollar rose to $1.2322 from Friday's $1.2335. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 79.36 from 79.57 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei closed at 9,171.16, adding 78.40 points, or 0.86 percent.