U.S. stocks opened lower as investors assess fresh retail sales data that came in slightly above expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.12% was down 0.2% soon after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.83% fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -1.54% dropped 0.9%, according to FactSet data, at last check. The U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales at retailers rose 1.3% in October. That’s slightly above the 1.2% increase forecast by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. The Federal Reserve has been trying to cool the economy and bring down inflation through monetary tightening.