The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Tuesday as traders weighed a lighter-than-expected producer price index report.

The 30-stock Dow gained 221.16 points, or 0.52%, to close at 42,518.28. The S&P 500 advanced 0.11% to 5,842.91, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.23% to end at 19,044.39

Big Tech stocks slipped on Tuesday, weighing on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Nvidia dropped 1.1%, and Meta Platforms fell 2.3%. However, investors flocked toward utilities, financials and materials, with each sector up more than 1%. The SPDR S&P Regional Bank ETF (KRE) and the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) were each up nearly 3%.

The producer price index, which measures wholesale inflation, increased just 0.2% in December, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated a 0.4% rise. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, was flat.

Investors are now looking to Wednesday's consumer price index report to gauge whether the Federal Reserve is succeeding at bringing inflation close to its 2% target, which would allow the central bank to ease interest rate policy. Economists are forecasting headline CPI to have risen 0.3% in December, according to Dow Jones.

"If CPI comes in hotter than expected, it would certainly be bad news for equity markets because it would imply that the Fed will indeed remain slower to lower interest rates," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

Fed funds futures trading suggests a near-certainty that the Fed will hold steady on interest rates at the conclusion of its two-day meeting later this month. Market pricing also suggests a 77.9% likelihood rates will stay at their current target range of 4.25%-4.5% in March, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

On the earnings front, banking behemoths will kick off fourth-quarter earnings season this week, with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo posting results on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley and Bank of America are slated to report on Thursday.