Disappointing January retail sales weighed the markets down during the midday with the Dow falling 49 points to 12,824. Nasdaq lost 11 points to 2919.

On the upside

Syntroleum (Nasdaq: SYNM) and Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) joint venture Dynamic Fuels will supply Norfolk Southern with renewable diesel.

Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) announced a cash tender offer for its 8.625% senior notes due 2015.

Fossil (Nasdaq: FOSL) reported higher fourth quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations.

On the downside

Energy Conversion (Nasdaq: ENER) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Auriga Securities analyst Hari Chandra downgraded Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) to a Hold rating.

Zipcar (Nasdaq: ZIP) swung to a better than expected profit for the fourth quarter but the company warned of wider than expected losses for the first quarter.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 6 points to 818.