US stocks little changed after July retail sales fall

US stocks were little changed early Friday after July retail sales fell 0.6 percent from June to $763.6 billion.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 percent at 53,808.29. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1 percent to 7,806.21, while the Nasdaq Composite Index also added 0.1 percent to 26,831.07.

Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers said light summer trading helped explain the muted reaction. He said the retail sales data might normally have moved markets more, but many investors were not inclined to take large positions or change their portfolios.