Money | stock market Stocks Tread Water By Kevin Spak Posted Mar 12, 2009 8:38 AM CDT Copied Andrew Tisch, left, Co-Chairman of the Board of the Loews Corporation, talks to Bank of America specialist John Parisi on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, March 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams) 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. Read These Next 11 people hurt in a "brutal act of violence" in Michigan. White House makes Hegseth put his polygraph away. A new book argues the Sacagawea legend is all wrong. A parent's nightmare, in a white cardboard box. Report an error