Stocks Start Flat Despite J.C. Penney's Pop

U.S. stocks opened fairly flat Tuesday amid a slow day for economic data. In retail news, Dicks Sporting Goods was up nicely this morning after beating fourth-quarter sales expectations and reporting in-line earnings per share. J.C. Penney is up smartly after a Citigroup analyst recommended buying the shares because of its nascent turnaround. And Urban Outfitters topped Wall Street estimates by 4 cents with in-line revenue. Outside the mall, DuPont said the quarter would be challenged by weather.

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