U.S. stock market indexes declined in Monday's early trading as investors worried that bickering politicians in Washington have not reached agreement on increasing the legal limit on borrowing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 fell one percent and the NASDAQ lost nine-tenths of a percent.

European stock markets were lower in afternoon trading. London's Financial Times 100 index lost four-tenths of a percent, the CAC-40 in Paris moved down half a percent, and the DAX in Frankfurt slid two-tenths of a percent.

Earlier in Asia, In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index dropped eight-tenths of a percent to close at 10,050. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell seven-tenths of a percent to end at 22,293.

The price of gold rose more than $16 to trade at $1,617.88 an ounce.

The dollar was lower against the yen but gained value compared to the euro.