NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks inched lower Tuesday morning, as investors eyed a better-than-expected reading on retail sales and geared up for the Senate confirmation hearing of Fed chair nominee Ben Bernanke.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 6.57 to 10,703.74, Charts), the broader S&P 500 (up 0.13 to 1,233.84, Charts) index and the Nasdaq composite (down 0.26 to 2,200.69, Charts) all lost a few points.

Tuesday was a busy morning for stock investors, amid reports on retail sales, inflation, Home Depot and others.

Additionally, Bernanke's confirmation hearing was scheduled to begin around 10 a.m. ET.

Retail sales fell 0.1 percent in October, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday morning, versus expectations for a fall of 0.7 percent, according to forecasts. Sales excluding autos, which took a big hit, rose 0.9 percent in the month, topping forecasts.

The Producer Price index (PPI) rose 0.7 percent in October, topping forecasts. However, so-called "core" PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, fell 0.3 percent, versus an expected 0.2 percent rise

In corporate news, Home Depot (up $0.53 to $43.10, Research) reported third-quarter earnings that rose from a year earlier and beat estimates. The home improvement behemoth also lifted full-year earnings forecasts. Shares inched higher.

U.S. light crude oil for December fell 12 cents to $57.57 a barrel in electronic trading.

Treasury bonds were little changed, with the yield on the 10-year note holding at 4.60 percent.

The dollar gained versus the euro and the yen.

COMEX gold gained $1.30 to $470.40 an ounce.

In global trade, major Asian markets ended lower, and European markets were lower at midday.