Investors Give Thanks for Dell

Tech stocks posted modest gains in pre-holiday trade Wednesday, thanks to surprisingly strong earnings from Dell .

Dell shares soared nearly 10% after the company’s results cheered investors after several missteps and warnings over the last year.

But the broader market was mixed after a weaker than expected consumer sentiment reading raised concerns heading into the holiday shopping season.

Google was down slightly a day after surpassing $500 for the first time — a milestone trumpeted in more than 500 headlines around the world, according to a search of Google news.

Brocade surged 9% on its earnings report.

Cray soared 30% on a Defense Department supercomputer contract win with IBM .

In midday trade, the Nasdaq was up 6 to 2461, the S&P 500 climbed 1 to 1403, and the Dow slipped 6 to 12,315. Volume was heavy on the NYSE with more than a billion shares traded, but light on the Nasdaq, with 750 million shares changing hands. Breadth was positive on the NYSE and even on the Nasdaq, and upside volume on both exchanges was running at 60-70%.

Note: The Technical Analysis column will return on Monday, Nov. 27.