NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks slipped early Monday as new fears about the possibility of another terrorist attack and a sign of economic weakness put a damper on any afterglow following last week's strong rally.

At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 97.49 to 10,255.59. The Nasdaq composite index lost 27.53 to 1,713.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gave back 12.29 to 1,094.30.

Last week, both the Nasdaq and the Dow saw their biggest 5-day advances in more than a year. But revamped fears about a terrorist attack threatened any possible extension of the rally. On Sunday's edition of NBC's "Meet the Press," Vice President Dick Cheney said that the likelihood of another attack is "almost certain" and that it is "not a matter of if, but when."

"Obviously it's very bone-chilling when you hear his words. Announcements like this tend to stall us momentarily, but they don't derail the rally or recovery," Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany, told CNNfn's CNNmoney Morning.

Tensions continued to rise In the Middle East. A suicide bombing in Israel on Sunday killed 3 people and wounded 56. In Afghanistan, a U.S. Special Forces member was killed when a patrol came under enemy fire. American troops are battling al Qaeda forces believed to be responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks against the United States.

Adding to the market concern: the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators (LEI) for April declined 0.4 percent, a steeper drop than the 0.2 percent dip expected by economists.

Treasurys were higher, pushing the ten-year note yield to 5.21 percent.

In global trade, European markets were mixed at midday, while Asian markets closed mostly lower. The dollar was weaker against the euro and the yen. Brent crude oil futures fell 8 cents to $26.28 a barrel in London.

In corporate news, Computer Associates (CA: down $0.81 to $16.75, Research, Estimates) is under Securities and Exchange Commission investigation as regulators assess whether the software maker improperly recorded more than $500 million in revenue.