NEW YORK, May 13 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes were mixed at the close Tuesday, after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said import prices gained faster in April than export prices.

The Commerce Department said retail sales dipped 0.2 percent in April, a figure that fell ahead of expectations if slumping auto sales were excluded from the report.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 44.13 points by close Tuesday to 12,832.18, off 0.34 percent. The Standard and Poor's 500 index fell 0.54 points to 1,403.04, off 0.04 percent. The Nasdaq composite index rose 6.63 points to 2,495.12, up 0.27 percent.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,657 stocks advanced, while 1,438 declined on a volume of 1.207 billion shares traded.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 29/32 to yield 3.909 percent.

The euro traded at $1.5481 from Monday's $1.5537 and the dollar traded at 104.70 yen from Monday's 103.94 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index gained 210.37 points to 13,953.73, up 1.53 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 14.30 points to close at 6,206.30, off 0.23 percent.

Southwest mortgages 21 planes

DALLAS, May 13 (UPI) -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) has put 21 of its Boeing 737 jets into mortgage, raising $600 million, the company said Tuesday.

The money was raised "for general corporate purposes" The Dallas Morning News reported.

"We felt it was wise to bolster our cash positions," airline spokeswoman Beth Harbin said.

The loan, a combined effort of Citibank NA and seven European banks, needs to be repaid by May 2020, the report said.

Rising fuel costs have prompted a raft of reactions from airlines, including raising money through baggage fees, fuel surcharges and cutting back on schedules to ensure remaining flights are full.

Southwest posted earnings of $34 million in the first quarter of 2008, the only airline among the 10 largest in the United States to post a profit, the report said.

Hewlett-Packard to purchase EDS

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 13 (UPI) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) announced Tuesday it had reached agreement to purchase technology service company EDS of Plano, Texas, for $13.9 billion.

Industry analysts said the move would put HP in line with rival International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) in the field of technology consulting.

The move should also "double HP's services revenue, which amounted to $16.6 billion in fiscal 2007," the company said in a statement.

EDS Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Ronald Rittenmeyer will continue to lead EDS. He will join HP's executive council and report to HP's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Hurd, the statement said.

"The combination of HP and EDS will create a leading force in global IT services," said Hurd.

"First and foremost, this is a great transaction for our stockholders," Rittenmeyer said. The "collective skills of our employees will drive innovation."

April import prices outpaced export prices

WASHINGTON, May 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. imports price index gained 1.8 percent in April, while export prices rose 0.3 percent, the government reported Tuesday.

The rise in import prices was slower than the 2.9 percent increase in March, while increases in export prices continued a three-month trend, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

Petroleum related prices gained 6.8 percent in April, while all other imports gained 0.3 percent.

For non-petroleum items, the largest price jump was tracked to a 3.3 percent rise in supplies and materials prices, pushed by a jump in unfinished metal prices, the report said.

April showed a decline of 2.2 percent in agricultural export prices -- the first decrease in 11 months -- while all other exports saw a 0.5 percent price increase.