The markets opened mostly lower as investors mulled over the latest inflation and retail sales reports. The Dow slipped 13 points to 13,460 while Nasdaq dropped 10 points to 2660.

On the upside

Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) sold a 50% stake in five of its global businesses for about $9.5 billion to form a new joint petrochemical venture.

Savient Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SVNT) announced positive results for late-stage trials of its drug treatment for gout.

Jos. A Bank Clothiers (Nasdaq: JOSB) posted earnings that beat estimates on higher sales of men's tailored and casual clothing.

On the downside

Lehman Brothers Holdings (NYSE: LEH) posted lower revenues and a smaller profit, which beat expectations as equity trading and investment fees offset losses in mortgage-backed securities. Nonetheless, its shares fell along with the rest of the financial services sector.

H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) confirmed that it would record a net loss of $500 million for the 3rd quarter mostly due to its discontinued mortgage operations.

Amtech Systems (Nasdaq: ASYS) blamed delayed orders for break-even results as shares of the chip equipment maker tumbled.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 8 points to 762.