Traders took a breather to digest some sobering economic data Tuesday, blunting the recent rally. Most indexes and exchange-traded funds traded in a tight range in a volatile session that finished on a modest upswing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average wavered through the day, eking out a modest 30-point gain to 10437. The Nasdaq ended up 6 at 2204 and the S&P 500 closed up 1 at 1110.

The Labor Department said the Producer Price Index for finished goods rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in October, smaller than the 0.6% increase predicted by economists in a Dow Jones Newswires survey. The core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, fell 0.6% last month compared to September.

The data on wholesale inflation are expected to give the Federal Reserve continued ammunition to keep interest rates at a record low near zero in an effort to support the economic recovery.

The declines in U.S. stock futures prior to the report came as reports from home-improvement retailers Home Depot and Lowe's heightened concerns over the housing market a day after stocks hit new highs for the year. Monday's gains had come on signs of economic growth in Asia and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's commitment to low interest rates.

Home Depot's fiscal third-quarter profit fell a smaller-than-expected 8.9%, but the company's implied guidance for the fourth quarter below the mean forecast among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Sales at comparable stores decelerated from the second quarter, though the firm again outpaced smaller rival Lowe's, which reported a 30% drop in its fiscal third-quarter profit. Shares of both companies slid.

Alvaro de Molina, the head of GMAC Financial Services -- the giant, taxpayer-supported auto lender -- was ousted Monday by the board of directors. He had served 19 months on the job.

Crude oil prices rose on the Nymex. As of 4:05 p.m., front-month futures contracts for December were up 35 cents at $79.25. For a detailed rundown on Tuesday s trading session see our market story.

Winners

Ongoing surges in gold and other metals drove the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining fund up 1.7%, ahead of the broader indexes. The SPDR KBW Regional Banking fun rose as smaller financial names gained some momentum.

Losers

The iShares MSCI Taiwan Index fund dropped 3.8% on valuation concerns for semiconductor stocks. Investors backed off emerging markets in Asia, dropping the Market Vectors Vietnam fund by 2.4%.

Tuesday s Industry Headlines

Data Point
ProFunds Group, the world's largest manager of leveraged and inverse funds, announced today that it expects to pay zero 2009 year-end capital gain distributions on all 77 of its leveraged and inverse ProShares equity and fixed-income exchange traded funds. "We're pleased that ProShares provided knowledgeable investors opportunities to manage risk and pursue returns with leveraged and inverse strategies while also providing them with tax efficiency," ProShare Advisors CEO and Chairman Michael Sapir said.

Launching Pad
IndexIQ launched the first merger arbitrage exchange-traded fund designed to give investors exposure to mergers and acquisitions activity. The IQ ARB Merger Arbitrage fund began trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. This ETF is the latest offering from IndexIQ, and joins a the firm s hedge fund replication ETFs and (, inflation-hedged ETF and global resources-hedged ETF. The new fund has an annual expense ratio of 0.75%.

Wednesday s Notebook

Earnings and Conference Calls
AltiGen Communications, Aramark, BJ's Wholesale Club, Chico's FAS, China Sunergy, Cyberonics, Destination Maternity, Donaldson, Elbit Systems, Gymboree, Hot Topic, Jack in the Box, Limited Brands, NetApp, Perry Ellis International, PetSmart, Phillips-Van Heusen, Semtech, ValueVision, Woodward

Economic Data
7:00 a.m. MBA Purchase Applications
8:30 a.m. Consumer Price Index
8:30 a.m. Housing Starts
10:30 a.m. EIA Petroleum Status Report