Stock markets dipped in early Monday trading as fresh data presented a mixed economic picture in the US.

US consumer price inflation rose 0.4% month-on-month in April, twice as much as analysts had expected, while new home starts fell 6.5%.

Stock markets dipped in early Monday trading as fresh data presented a mixed economic picture in the US

The Dow Jones was down 30.28 points, or 0.18%, at 16,750.73 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ fell 4.84 points, or 0.11%, to 4,316.27.

The S&P 500 dropped 3.19 points, or 0.16%, to 1,934.59.

Markets were also nervous as the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee began a two-day monetary policy meeting.

Forest Oil Corp was the biggest gainer, up 10.5%, after it emerged that a deal for the company to be taken over by Sabine Oil & Gas was going ahead, despite earlier reports to the contrary.