Stocks Tread Water

Stocks murmured softly at today's open, barely moving off yesterday’s numbers. The Dow fell 19 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P were essentially flat. GE was on the rise after S&P cut its credit rating less than expected, from AAA to AA+. Investors were also mulling a better-than-expected retail sales report; the metric dipped just 0.1% on a revised 1.8% gain in January.