Strong company earnings send stock indexes higher

Encouraging earnings from McDonald's, eBay and other companies sent U.S. stocks higher in midday trading Thursday. The market also got a lift from a rally in European stocks after the head of the European Central Bank said the bank will consider expanding its stimulus program in December. Industrials stocks were among the biggest gainers.

Keeping score: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 254 points, or 1.5 percent, to 17,422 as of 12:07 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 28 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,047. The Nasdaq gained 67 points, or 1.4 percent, to 4,907. The indexes are rebounding after a two-day slide.

Sector view: Nine of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 index notched gains, led by industrials, up 2.8 percent. Health care stocks fell 1.3 percent.

E-gainer: EBay jumped 13.2 percent a day after the e-commerce company reported results that came in well ahead of what analysts were expecting. The stock rose $3.19 to $27.40.

Happy Meal: McDonald's climbed 7.4 percent after the world's largest burger chain said its sales increased in the third quarter. McDonald's shares added $7.59 to $110.13.

Strong results: Texas Instruments vaulted 10.3 percent after the chipmaker reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit and revenue and gave an upbeat outlook for the current quarter. The stock added $5.33 to $57.22.

Feeling sick: Several health care stocks were trading lower. Tenet Healthcare slumped $6.83, or 19.6 percent, to $27.98. HCA Holdings fell $5.06, or 7.1 percent, to $66.15, while fellow hospital owner Universal Health Services slid $14.33, or 11.4 percent, to $111.14.

Falling short: Homebuilder PulteGroup fell 6.5 percent after the company reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that fell short of Wall Street's forecasts. The builder shed $1.27 to $18.18.

Credit crimped: Shares in American Express tumbled 5.8 percent a day after the credit card issuer reported a 16 percent drop in profits, missing analysts' estimates. American Express said it was hurt by higher expenses and the strong U.S. dollar. It also cut its full-year forecast. The stock slid $4.40 to $72.11.

European markets: Germany's DAX rose 2.5 percent, while the CAC-40 in France rose 2.3 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares gained 0.4 percent.

Asia's day: The Shanghai Composite Index finished up 1.4 percent following a 3 percent slide Wednesday. Elsewhere in Asia stock markets closed mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 percent and South Korea's Kospi dropped 1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6 percent.

Energy: Benchmark U.S. crude added 29 cents to $45.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 32 cents to $48.17 a barrel in London.

Bonds and currencies: U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.04 percent from 2.03 percent the day before. The euro fell to $1.1140 while the dollar rose to 120.50 yen.

By Alex Veiga, AP Business Writer. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – October 22, 2015 @ 11:50 a.m.