NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market slid lower to start the week, following declines in European markets.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 139 points, or 0.8 percent, to 16,974 as of 10:02 a.m. Eastern time Monday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 16 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,966. The Nasdaq composite fell 33 points, or 0.8 percent, to 4,478.

DEAL CHATTER: DreamWorks Animation, the studio behind "Shrek" and "Madagascar," soared 18 percent following reports that Japan's SoftBank Corp. is in talks to buy the company. DreamWorks gained $3.82 to $26.22.

OVER THERE: Major markets in Europe sank. France's CAC-40 fell 1.3 percent, while Germany's DAX fell 1.1 percent. The FTSE 100 of leading British companies lost 0.5 percent.

HONG KONG TENSIONS: Pro-democracy protests escalated Monday, raising concerns that business Hong Kong might be disrupted. In a rare scene of disorder, thousands of people took to the streets over the weekend in a challenge against Beijing's decision to limit political reforms. Police fired tear gas and detained 78 protesters.

ASIA'S DAY: Concerns over the situation in Hong Kong weighed on its main stock index, the Hang Seng, which closed with a loss of 1.9 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite added 0.4 percent.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Sentiment is downbeat for a variety of reasons, not least due to the growing unrest in Hong Kong," said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at Forex.com.

THE ECONOMY: Stocks were falling in the U.S. despite better news on the economy. The Commerce Department reported that consumer spending in August rose 0.5 percent from the previous month after showing no gain in July. Auto sales made up about half of the increase. It was the best result since spending expanded at the same rate in June and further evidence that the economy is on solid footing heading into the end of the year.

BONDS: Prices for U.S. government bonds rose, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.48 percent from 2.53 percent late Friday.

CURRENCIES: The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.2706 while the dollar was flat at 109.29 yen. The dollar has been rising over the past few months as the U.S. economy has strengthened and as traders price in the prospect of interest rate increases from the Fed.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell three cents to $93.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.