US stocks lower on data, Scotland vote

New York -US stocks finished mostly lower on Monday following disappointing economic data from China and Japan and the growing spectre of Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15% to 17 111.42.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.31% to 2 001.54, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.20% to 4 592.29.

"US equities are taking a breather following a five-week rally," Wells Fargo Advisors said in a note.

China reported a surprising drop of 2.4% in imports, the latest data to raise questions about the world's second-biggest economy.

Japan, the number three economy, shrank 1.8% in the April-June quarter, worse than the previously estimated contraction of 1.7%.

The British pound fell after polls showed rising support in Scotland for independence in a referendum next week. The FTSE 100 dipped 0.3%.

Major news events this week include an expected Apple product launch on Tuesday and a report on August US retail sales on Friday.

Dow member Boeing gained 2.6% as it announced a major contract award from Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair. Ryanair agreed to purchase 100 planes for $11bn, with options to buy an additional 100 aircraft.

Petroleum producers such as ExxonMobil 1.5% and Apache 1.6% came under pressure as Brent oil prices fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since June 2013.

Oil services companies Halliburton 1.7% and Schlumberger 2.1% also tumbled.

Yahoo jumped 5.6% after Chinese online marketplace Alibaba unveiled plans to raise up to $24.3bn through a large initial public offering.

Under the IPO plan, which has long been in the works, Yahoo will reduce its stake from the current level of 22.4% to 16.3%.

Twitter shot up 2.6% on news that it has begun testing "buy buttons" that let people make purchases directly from marketing posts. The move could enhance Twitter's appeal to advertisers.

Car rental giant Hertz Global Holdings edged up 0.1% after announcing that chief executive Mark Frissora was stepping down. Hertz has come under scrutiny after announcing in June that it would restate financial results because of accounting mistakes.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.47% from 2.46% on Friday, while the 30-year increased to 3.22% from 3.19%. Bond prices and yields move inversely.