Most U.S. stocks rose Tuesday following an encouraging update on inflation, though drops for Eli Lilly and other influential stocks kept indexes in check.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as three out of every four stocks in the index climbed. The Dow Jones industrial average added 221 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%.

Stocks got a boost from a report showing inflation at the U.S. wholesale level wasn’t as high last month as economists expected. It’s an encouraging signal ahead of a report coming Wednesday, which will show how much inflation U.S. consumers faced at gasoline pumps, grocery registers and auto lots in December.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.78%, where it was late Monday. It was below 3.65% in September.

The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action, eased to 4.36% from 4.39%.

On Wall Street, KB Home rose 4.8% after delivering a better profit for its latest quarter than analysts expected.

H&E Equipment Services more than doubled to top $90 after United Rentals said it will buy its smaller rival for $92 per share in cash. United Rentals rose 5.9%.

Indexes drifted between gains and losses through the day in large part due to drops for several Big Tech stocks. Nvidia fell 1.1% and was the second-heaviest weight on the S&P 500.

The only stock to drag more on the market was Eli Lilly, which fell 6.6% after saying it expects to report weaker revenue for the last three months of 2024 than previously forecast.

Also on the losing end of the market was Signet Jewelers, which tumbled 21.7%. The diamond seller said its sales in the peak shopping days leading up to Christmas this past holiday season were below its forecasts.

All told Tuesday, the S&P rose 6.69 points to 5,842.91. The Dow gained 221.16 to 42,518.28, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 43.71 to 19,044.39.

Benchmark U.S. crude eased 1.7% to $77.50 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.3% to $79.92 per barrel.

— Associated Press