NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks ended little changed Tuesday, but the Dow industrials managed to hold the 11,000 level as upbeat news out of Apple countered Alcoa's disappointing results and a jump in Treasury bond yields.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 0.32 to 11,011.58, Charts) ended just below unchanged, however the Dow remained above the 11,000 level it cleared Monday. Prior to that, the blue-chip average was last above the key psychological level in June of 2001.

Special Reportfull coverage America's cheapest gas is in this town Summer drivers to get a break on gas Why gas prices are likely to keep climbing You'll pay a little less for gas this summer Expect relief from record February gas prices Why gas prices are rising

The broader S&P 500 (down 0.46 to 1,289.69, Charts) index ended just below the breakeven line. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (up 1.63 to 2,320.32, Charts) ended the session roughly flat, after spending most of the day in the red.

"We've had five very strong days and this is just a little bit of a breather," Michelle Clayman, chief investment officer at New Amsterdam Partners, said. "There were some earnings today that were a little on the disappointing side, but otherwise things are pretty much as expected."

The major gauges posted gains through the first five sessions of the year, putting the Dow and S&P are at more than 4-1/2 year highs. The Nasdaq is just short of a five-year high.

Often, a runup in the first five sessions of the year bodes well for the market's full-year prospects, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. Whether that proves to be true this year remains to be seen.

In the short term, stocks are likely to stay in sideways mode until investors digest economic news due at the end of the week, said Peter Cardillo, chief market analyst at S.W. Bach & Co. Pivotal reports due Friday include retail sales and the Producer Price Index (PPI).

What could challenge stocks longer term "if oil prices or other inflationary factors kick in and cause the Fed to extend its rate hiking campaign," Cardillo said. Bets that the Fed rate-hike campaign is nearing an end have fueled the early '06 advance.

As of 6:00 p.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures pointed to a flat open for stocks when fair value is taken into account.

After the close, Genentech (Research) reported quarterly earnings that rose from a year ago and matched analysts' estimates. However, shares of its cancer colon treatment Avastin were short of estimates, and Genentech stock fell in extended-hours trading.

Tomorrow's one economic report of note is the weekly crude oil inventories report, due out at around 10:30 a.m. ET.

Dow component Alcoa (down $0.97 to $29.60, Research), which fell more than 3 percent on its quarterly results and a UBS downgrade, essentially began the fourth-quarter earnings reporting period on a discouraging note.

But Apple (up $4.81 to $80.86, Research) rallied 6.3 percent after CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the first Apple computers ever to use an Intel (down $0.35 to $26.12, Research) processor and said the company's entire product line will be transitioned to use Intel chips by the end of this year.

The computer maker also reported strong holiday sales thanks to the popular iPod and announced new features for its popular digital music player.

General Motors (down $0.35 to $22.06, Research) fell 1.6 percent in active trade. The automaker said it was cutting prices on most vehicles. However, an aide to its largest shareholder, Kirk Kerkorian, called on the company to take bigger steps, such as cutting its dividend and executive pay.

Phelps Dodge (down $7.97 to $146.58, Research) lost more than 5 percent after the copper miner slashed its fourth-quarter outlook by more than 70 percent.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (down $13.69 to $38.29, Research) and LifePoint Hospitals (down $6.87 to $29.54, Research) both slumped after warning that fourth-quarter earnings won't meet forecasts.

On the upside, Dow stock Home Depot (up $0.98 to $41.80, Research) gained 2.4 percent after announcing that it would buy Hughes Supply for almost $3.2 billion. Shares of Hughes (up $7.06 to $45.61, Research) soared more than 18 percent.

Light, sweet crude oil for February delivery settled down 13 cents at $63.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Treasury prices slumped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 4.42 percent from around 4.36 percent late Monday. Treasury bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

COMEX gold for February delivery slumped $4.80 to settle at $545.70 an ounce.