Dell Keeps Tech Afloat

Pressuring the Dow was General Motors (GM Quote). The automaker's shares sank 4.7% after its largest individual shareholder, billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp., revealed that it cut its stake in the company to 7.4% from 9.9%, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Another Dow stock, Alcoa (AA Quote), was higher. After the prior close, the aluminum giant said it would eliminate 6,700 jobs as part of a bid to save $125 million a year on a pretax basis. Three plants will also be shut down. Alcoa shares rose 4.3% to $30.43.

U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. On Friday, trading will end at 1 p.m. EST.

Overall, stocks have been listless thus far this week and haven't closed far from the flat line. However, that doesn't mean investors have lost interest.

"This weekend is the biggest shopping weekend of the year and a much better measure of consumer confidence than any survey," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist with Cantor Fitzgerald. "Even with all of this good news, it will take strong retail sales to keep investors from profit-taking come Monday morning."

Also on the economic docket, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose by 12,000 to 321,000 last week. The less volatile four-week moving average moved higher by 3,000 to 317,000.