On The Fly: Top stock stories at midday

Stocks opened with solid gains, just as they have for the past three days. Shortly after the open, the averages pared their gains, but then gathered themselves and since then have moved in a very narrow range. The gains are broad-based, with the Dow up 0.5% and the Nasdaq and S&P even higher in terms of percentage gains. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., no economic data of note was reported. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) have rallied about 10% after the company's better than expected quarterly report and announcement of plans to return $7B to shareholders through FY19 in the form of share repurchases and a 50% dividend increase. The other half of the former HP, HP Inc. (HPQ), has gained 5% following its own better than expected quarterly results... Blue Buffalo Pet Products (BUFF) has jumped about 17% to $39.85 after General Mills (GIS) announced an agreement to buy the pet food maker for $40 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of approximately $8B. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Momo (MOMO), which rose 14% after it reached a deal to acquire Tantan Limited in a cash and stock transaction. Also higher after reporting quarterly results were Financial Engines (FNGN) and Trade Desk (TTD), which gained a respective 26% and 19%. Among the notable losers was Gogo (GOGO), which slipped 5% after JPMorgan downgraded the stock from Neutral to Overweight, saying the shares will be "challenged" in 2018 given the rapid pace of American Airlines (AAL) de-install and the flat to down average monthly service revenue per aircraft. Also lower after reporting quarterly results were Universal Display (OLED) and First Solar (FSLR), which fell a respective 15% and 8%. INDEXES: Near 1 pm ET, the Dow was up 119.19, or 0.48%, to 25,081.67, the Nasdaq was up 59.31, or 0.82%, to 7,269.40, and the S&P 500 was up 19.43, or 0.72%, to 2,723.39.