NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks got an initial boost from positive inflation and retail sales data Tuesday morning, as investors await the testimony of Ben Bernanke as he begins the confirmation process to be the new chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The Producer Price Index, which measures the price of goods purchased by business, jumped 0.7 percent in October. Analysts had expected it to be unchanged because of retreating oil prices. The PPI soared 1.9 percent last month. (Full story)

The so-called "core PPI," which excludes food and energy prices, was down 0.3 percent -- much better than expected -- as analysts had predicted an increase of 0.2 percent.

Retail sales figures showed a decline of 0.1 percent in October, compared to analysts' expectations of -0.7 percent. Sales excluding autos rose 0.9 percent (versus an expected 0.3 percent), suggesting that consumer spending is strong heading into the holiday shopping season.

U.S. stock futures were down, although a comparison to fair value indicating a mixed to flat opening for stocks.

Inflation is also expected to get a lot of attention during Bernanke's appearance before the Senate Budget Committee starting at 10 a.m. ET.

While Bernanke is expected to be easily confirmed by the Senate, he's likely to face questions about his previous advocacy of "inflation targeting" that would spell out Fed action based on inflation readings. He's also expected to be asked about his independence from the Bush administration after serving as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors.

Oil prices retreated in early trading, although they were off earlier lows, following Monday's rebound.

The December light crude futures contract for NYMEX lost 24 cents to $57.45 a barrel in electronic trading, while the December contract for Brent crude fell 28 cents to $54.45.

Major markets in Asia closed lower Tuesday ahead of the U.S. economic readings. Major European markets also were lower in early trading.

Treasury prices were slightly higher, cutting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.59 from 4.61 percent late Monday. The dollar gained against on the euro and yen.

In corporate news, Dow component Johnson & Johnson (Research) reported that it reached an agreement with medical device maker Guidant (Research) to buy the company for a reduced $21.5 billion price from its previous acquisition agreement. J&J had been backing away from the previous deal due to recalls and investigations at Guidant, prompting Guidant to sue J&J last week to try to rescue the earlier deal.

Shares of both J&J and Guidant gained following the announcement.

Home improvement retailer Home Depot (Research) reported that it earned 72 cents a share in the third quarter, up from 60 cents a year earlier and better than the forecast of 68 cents from analysts surveyed by earning tracker First Call. It also said it expects full-year earnings growth better than current forecasts. Shares of the Dow component gained nearly 3 percent following the announcement.

Target (Research), the nation's No. 3 general retailer, warned Monday evening that its November sales at stores open at least a year would see growth below the 4 to 6 percent guidance it had previously given. Shares of Target lost 3.5 percent on Inet early Tuesday.

Online retailer Amazon.com (Research) is joining the Standard & Poor's 500 index, S&P announced after the market close Monday. The news lifted Amazon shares 6 percent on Inet early Tuesday.

Drug manufacturer Allergan (Research), the maker of Botox anti-wrinkle products, announced early Tuesday it was making a $3.2 billion cash and stock bid for Inamed (Research), in an attempt to block a proposed purchase of the breast implant maker by Medicis Pharmaceutical (Research).

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