On The Fly: Top stock stories at midday

Stocks opened in negative territory and have remained there throughout the morning. Political concerns in Spain and worries about weakening growth in China were attributed as potential causes of the early weakness, though there may not be much "reason" beyond the market being due to pull back with the major averages at record levels. The Dow has cut its early losses in half, but the Nasdaq remains under pressure as shares of Apple (AAPL) are down following reports of reduced orders for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims dropped 22,000 to 222,000 in the week of October 14, marking a 44-year low. The Philly Fed manufacturing index rose 4.1 points to 27.9 in October. The leading economic index fell 0.2% to 128.6 in September. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Apple have slid almost 2.5% following a foreign media report claiming the company reduced orders to suppliers for iPhone 8 models by over 50% for the rest of the year. However, Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White said he would be an "aggressive buyer" of Apple shares amid the weakness, as he believes the staggered launch of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X is causing more confusing data points than in past cycles. He also notes that Apple has cut forecasts before "even during some of the best iPhone cycles"... American Express (AXP) reported better than expected revenue and earnings, raised its full-year profit outlook and announced that Stephen Squeri, who has been Vice Chairman since 2015 will succeed retiring CEO Kenneth Chenault... Verizon (VZ) is up over 2% at midday after the Dow member reported in-line earnings, postpaid phone gains and recovering wireless service revenue. Shares of Travelers (TRV), the other member of the blue chip index that reported earnings this morning, are fractionally higher near noon. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Corbus Pharmaceuticals (CRBP), jumping 11% after reporting Phase 2 study results for its potential treatment of dermatomyositis. Also higher was Adobe (ADBE), gaining 11% after the company's fiscal 2018 guidance was significantly better than expected, with several analysts highlighting its strong margin trends. eBAY (EBAY) was among the noteworthy losers, dipping 2% after reporting Q3 earnings after the close last night. Also lower after reporting earnings today was Phillip Morris (PM), which is down 4% following the cigarette giant's guidance cut. Additionally, United Airlines (UAL) shares have dropped by more than 10% after the company reported Q3 results last night and updated its FY17 view. United's weakness is also weighing on the whole airline sector, as American (AAL) is down 4% and Delta (DAL) is down nearly 2%. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 38.95, or 0.17%, to 23,118.65, the Nasdaq was down 42.36, or 0.64%, to 6,581.86, and the S&P 500 was down 5.17, or 0.2%, to 2,556.09.