US stocks : Dow up 0.38 pct
2 percent to close on Wednesday at $11.94, recouping a small slice of Tuesday's loss, when the stock slid to a 10-year low after the computer and printer maker reported a $5 billion charge related to "accounting improprieties" at Autonomy, a British software company that HP bought last year. At least two brokerages have cut their ratings on HP's stock, while analysts at several firms lowered their price targets.
Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N) jumped 8.8 percent to $158.78 a day after the business software provider reported results that beat Wall Street's expectations for the third quarter and maintained its outlook for the rest of the year.
But Deere & Co (DE.N) dragged on the S&P 500 after the world's largest farm equipment maker reported a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit. Its stock lost 3.7 percent to $82.83.
The market did not derive much direction from the day's economic data, with initial jobless claims falling last week, as expected.
Other data showed manufacturing picked up at its quickest pace in five months in November, while the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading for November showed the consumer sentiment index improved only slightly from the previous month.
The focus will likely turn to retailers on Friday as analysts try to assess how strong the holiday shopping season will be this year, according to Kurt Brunner, portfolio manager at Swarthmore Group in Philadelphia.
The S&P 500 retail sector index .SPXRT was up 0.6 percent.
Holiday shopping traditionally kicks off the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, as stores offer deals and discounts
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