Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped, S&P 500 down

US stocks traded on a downbeat note on Monday as investors were digesting a slew of economic data amid global trade tensions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 178.66 points, or 0.67 percent, to 26,564.84. The S&P 500 was down 12.79 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,916.88, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 13.07 points, or 0.16 percent, to 7,973.88.

Trade-sensitive stocks Caterpillar and Boeing dropped 1.50 percent and 1 percent, respectively, around midday.

Fears that an escalation of trade frictions between Washington and its key trading partners may have a negative impact on the global economy continued to rattle investors, analysts noted.

On economic data, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) was unchanged at +0.18 in August from July rate, the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank announced on Monday.

The CFNAI is a weighted average of 85 existing monthly indicators of national economic activity. A positive index reading corresponds to growth above trend and a negative index reading indicates growth below trend.