Wall Street falls after retail sales data disappoint

The S&P 500 index retreated from near a seven-month high Tuesday after weaker-than-expected January U.S. retail sales data curbed investors' appetite for risky assets.

U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in January as consumers cut back on car purchases and shopped less online.

The disappointing data added to concerns stemming from Moody's downgrade Monday of ratings on six euro-zone countries.

"The state of the consumer is still pretty mild. We have had some good economic news but still pretty mild trends all around," said Sean Incremona, an economist at 4CAST in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 28.01 points, or 0.22 percent, at 12,846.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 3.97 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,347.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 10.23 points, or 0.35 percent, at 2,921.16.