Stocks opened up this morning after the Dow Jones industrial average dove nearly 700 points yesterday on an official report that the United States has been in a recession since December 2007, the Associated Press reported.

Although investors may be looking for deals today, they also may be weary of more bad economic news, including signs that retailers continue to be battered by poor consumer spending.

Sears Holding Corp. said its third-quarter earnings were hurt by huge charges and weak results at its U.S. department stores and Kmart locations, which resulted in a net loss of $146 million. Staples Inc. also announced a 43 percent drop in profit in the third quarter due to major charges from restructuring and an acquisition. Without these charges, its revenues would have risen 35 percent, beating analysts’ estimates, despite weak U.S. sales.

A report by ShopperTrack RCT showed that sales at U.S. retailers rose 1.9 percent in the two days following the Thanksgiving holiday, with sales up 3 percent on Black Friday and down 0.8 percent on Saturday, compared with a year earlier, Bloomberg reported.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity showed a contraction in that sector, with a reading of 36.2. Separate surveys of manufacturing in the United Kingdom, European Union and China also revealed weakness worldwide.

Two major financial companies reported more layoffs as well. JPMorgan Chase & Co. said yesterday that it will cut 9,200 Washington Mutual Inc. jobs, or more than 21 percent of the work force at Washington Mutual, Reuters reported. Bank of America Corp., which is expected to acquire Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. by the end of the year, also plans to cut about 10,000 investment-banking jobs at the combined banks.