Stocks in volatile trade

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were mixed early Wednesday afternoon, following a volatile morning, in which investors welcomed falling oil prices and upbeat news out of Dell and Alcoa, but showed some caution amid weakness in General Motors.

The Nasdaq composite (up 5.28 to 2,460.12, Charts) added about 0.2 percent 2-1/2 hours into the session, after ending the previous session at its highest level since February 2001.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 7.05 to 12,314.54, Charts) lost a few points. The broader S&P 500 (up 0.59 to 1,403.40, Charts) index was little changed, after ending the previous session at a six-year high.

Stocks see-sawed all morning, as investors reacted to some mildly discouraging economic news and an about-face in the price of oil, following a surprisingly strong weekly oil inventories report.

Stocks were expected to remain volatile throughout the session, due to lower-than-usual volume, with many Wall Street professionals checking out early ahead of Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.

All financial markets are closed Thursday for the holiday, and close early Friday.

"If you think it's quiet today, wait until Friday," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co., referring to the tendency for participants to make the holiday into a four-day weekend.

However, the week after the holiday brings plenty for investors to focus on, including the pace of the economy and consumer spending.

"Next week, we'll be talking about Black Friday, all the Wal-Mart promotions and how many people turned out," he said, referring to the day after Thanksgiving, which is typically seen as the start of the crucial holiday retail sales period.

U.S. light crude oil for January delivery slumped $1.17 to $59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, following the release of the weekly oil inventories report.

Stocks managed slim gains Tuesday, with investors hampered by surging oil prices.

But with oil prices lower Wednesday, investors were able to focus on the mostly upbeat corporate news, including Dell's preliminary earnings report, released late Tuesday.

Dell (up $2.38 to $27.20, Charts) reported higher quarterly earnings that topped estimates on revenue that was just short of estimates. Earnings were initially expected last week, but were delayed because of an accounting probe.

Dell shares jumped more than 10 percent Wednesday morning.

Dow component Alcoa (up $1.07 to $30.26, Charts) climbed 4 percent Wednesday after saying late Tuesday that it would cut its work force by about 10 percent, and spin off one of its businesses as part of a broader restructuring.

But fellow Dow stock General Motors (down $1.11 to $31.50, Charts) lost about 3.5 percent, falling for the third straight session. The automaker said Wednesday it is dropping plans to develop a new group of minivans and will instead focus on its crossover SUVs.

The stock has been under pressure lately amid speculation about what billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian may do, now that the moratorium that had prevented his Tracinda Corp. from trading GM for 45 days has been lifted, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Among other movers, MGM (up $5.08 to $54.08, Charts) rallied 8 percent on news that Tracinda Corp. plans to up its stake in the casino operator to 61.7 percent from 56.3 percent.

The decline in oil prices weighed on oil stocks such as Exxon Mobil. The Amex Oil (down 13.86 to 1,157.79, Charts) index fell 1 percent.

Market breadth was mixed and volume was moderate. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers 8 to 7 on volume of 660 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers by a narrow margin on volume of 810 million shares.

Investors also kept an eye on the day's economic news.

Weekly jobless claims rose by a greater-than-expected 12,000 last week to 321,000. However, the report still showed a healthy labor market.

The November consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan was revised downward to 92.1 from an initial read of 92.3. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com thought it would rise to 93.

Treasury bond prices inched higher, with the yield on the 10-year note falling to 4.56 percent from 4.57 percent late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

COMEX gold gained $1.50 to $630.20 an ounce.

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