Stocks mixed on Japan earthquake

Stocks are opening mixed as investors try to gauge the economic fallout from the largest earthquake in Japan’s history.

The earthquake shook Japan toward the end of the Asian trading session and rattled global stocks.

Concern about the damage from the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami is overshadowing a government report saying retail sales rose more than expected in February.

The prospect of a short-term drop in demand for crude sent oil prices lower. Japan is the world’s third-largest oil consumer. Crude is down to $100.29 a barrel.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 25 points, or 0.4 percent, at 11,895. The S&P 500 is down 0.2, or less than 1 percent, to 1,289. The Nasdaq composite is up 4.25, or 0.2 percent, to 2,285.