Fly Intel: Wall Street's top stories at midday

Stocks opened in positive territory as they tried to get back to winning following yesterday's big selloff. The averages moved in a fairly narrow range until the European markets closed, after which U.S. stocks pared their gains and moved to session lows. Each of the indices remains in the green, but are trying to hang onto their gains. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., existing home sales were weaker than expected in September. Sales fell 3.4% to a 5.15M unit rate, which marked a sixth straight monthly drop. In China, stocks in the Shanghai composite were weak at the outset of trading after Q3 GDP growth was reported to be a bit lower than expected at 6.5%. However, stocks reversed course and finished more than 2.5% higher after a number of Chinese officials released statements calling for economic calm and media reports suggested the government is considering additional stimulus measures. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of PayPal (PYPL) jumped 8.5% after the company reported better than expected third quarter results, noting that Q3 total payment volume grew 24% year-over-year. In addition, the company reported that Venmo, its social payments platform, grew 78% in the quarter in terms of transaction volume processed... American Express (AXP) shares were 3.5% higher after the credit card giant reported better than expected Q3 earnings and revenue and raised its guidance for FY18... Additionally, Procter & Gamble (PG) shares rose 7% after the company reported better than expected quarterly results and guided for fiscal 2019 core earnings per share growth of 3%-8%... Meanwhile, shares of AIG (AIG) slipped 2% after the insurance giant said it expected to report Q3 pre-tax catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance, of roughly $1.5B-$1.7B... In addition, DowDuPont (DWDP) shares dipped nearly 1.5% after the company said it sees non-cash impairment charges of about $4.6B for the September quarter, mainly related to write-offs in its Ag segment. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Dentsply Sirona (XRAY), which rose 4% after Goldman Sachs analyst Nathan Rich double upgraded the stock to Buy from Sell and raised his price target on the shares to $44 from $37. Also higher were Skechers (SKX) and Interpublic Group (IPG), which gained a respective 14% and 10% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was eBay (EBAY), which slipped 9% after Stifel analyst Scott Devitt downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy based on concerning signs he saw in PayPal's report. Also lower were Bank OZK (OZK) and Limelight Networks (LLNW), which fell 23% and 16%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 135.63, or 0.53%, to 25,515.08, the Nasdaq was up 21.05, or 0.28%, to 7,506.19, and the S&P 500 was up 13.55, or 0.49%, to 2,782.33.