Stocks tiptoe higher

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks inched higher Wednesday morning after a mild reading on wholesale inflation reassured investors, but gains were limited one session after a big rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average (Charts) added a few points in the early going. On Tuesday, the Dow rallied nearly 320 points, scoring its second biggest one-day point gain of the year.

The S&P 500 (Charts) index added 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite (Charts) added 0.3 percent.

The Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of wholesale inflation, rose 0.1 percent in October, short of forecasts for a rise of 0.3 percent. So-called core PPI, which strips out food and energy prices, was flat, missing forecasts for a rise of 0.2 percent.

A separate report showed retail sales rose 0.2 percent in the month as expected, while retail sales excluding autos rose a smaller-than-expected 0.2 percent.

A third report showed that business inventories rose 0.4 percent in September, as forecast.

The economic news was generally supportive for hopes that the Federal Reserve will keep cutting interest rates. However, it failed to give much lift to markets, with investors holding back after Tuesday's run.

Stocks rallied Tuesday, after a four-session selloff, after comments from executives at Goldman Sachs and other major banks offered reassurance that the worst of the credit crisis seems to be over.

On Wednesday Bear Stearns (Charts, Fortune 500) said it will take a $1.2 billion writedown and post a loss this quarter due to subprime losses. However, shares rose, perhaps on relief that the writedown was not even larger.

Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 4.28 percent from 4.26 percent late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar continued to slump against the euro. The greenback also inched higher against the yen.

COMEX gold for December delivery rose $17.60 to $816.60 an ounce.

U.S. light crude oil for December delivery rose $1.48 to $92.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.