Encouraging earnings from McDonald's, eBay and other companies sent U.S. stocks sharply higher in afternoon trading Thursday as the market rebounds after a two-day slide. Investors also welcomed news that the European Central Bank will consider expanding its stimulus program in December. Industrials stocks were among the biggest gainers.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 307 points, or 1.8 percent, to 17,475 as of 1:18 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 35 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,054. The Nasdaq gained 83 points, or 1.7 percent, to 4,923. The gains brought the S&P 500 index nearly back to breakeven for the year following sharp declines in August and September.

SECTOR VIEW: Nine of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 index notched gains, led by industrials, up 3.1 percent. Health care stocks fell 1.1 percent.

E-GAINER: EBay jumped 13.7 percent a day after the e-commerce company reported results that came in well ahead of what analysts were expecting. The stock rose $3.31 to $27.52.

HAPPY MEAL: McDonald's climbed 7.6 percent after the world's largest burger chain said its sales increased in the third quarter. McDonald's shares added $7.77 to $110.31.

STRONG RESULTS: Texas Instruments vaulted 11.5 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 $5.99 to $57.89.

FEELING SICK: Several health care stocks were trading lower. Tenet Healthcare slumped $6.69, or 19.2 percent, to $28.12. HCA Holdings fell $6.78, or 9.5 percent, to $64.42, while fellow hospital owner Universal Health Services slid $15.97, or 12.7 percent, to $109.50.

FALLING SHORT: Homebuilder PulteGroup fell 7 percent after the company reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that fell short of Wall Street's forecasts. The builder shed $1.36 to $18.09.

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 $4.45 to $72.06.

SOLD: The National Association of Realtors said that sales of previously occupied homes jumped 4.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.55 million. Buying activity rebounded after slipping in August, suggesting that the U.S. housing sector remains insulated from global economic turmoil.

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 fell 20 cents to $45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost 14 cents to $47.71 a barrel in London.

BONDS AND CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.02 percent from 2.03 percent the day before. The euro fell to $1.1134 while the dollar rose to 120.59 yen.