Stocks ended a thinly traded session mostly flat on Tuesday as investors paused after last week's surge, though light volume suggested the market could encounter more choppy trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 12.90 points, or 0.10 percent, to end unofficially at 12,569.87. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 1.79 points, or 0.13 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,337.88. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 9.74 points, or 0.35 percent, to close unofficially at 2,825.77.

(Reporting by David Gaffen; Editing by Jan Paschal)