Analysts also said investors were watching for clues of how President-elect Barack Obama will try to shake the US economy out of its worst slump in decades.
Obama is due to meet leaders in Congress on Monday to discuss his stimulus plan.
Some Republicans are worried that their Democratic rivals could expand the plan to as much as US$1 trillion.
General Motors Corp shares jumped 14 percent to US$3.65 after the US government on Wednesday paid out the first US$4 billion in emergency loans to support the biggest US carmaker. A parallel rescue payment for privately held Chrysler LLC was on hold until the new year.
Chrysler said it remained in talks with the US Treasury to finalize its own US$4 billion loan agreement and expected to receive its share of the funding soon.
Shares of Ford Motor Co rose 7.4 percent to US$2.46 even after it forecast a sharp drop in industry-wide U.S auto sales for December.
Volume was slim on the New York Stock Exchange, where about 929 million shares changed hands, far below last year's estimated daily average of 1.90 billion. On the Nasdaq, about 1.44 billion shares traded, well below last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Advancers outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of about 9 to 2, while on the Nasdaq about eight stocks rose for every three that fell.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily January 4, 2009)
