The major stock averages are mixed at midday, with the Dow lagging following its outperformance yesterday and the Nasdaq bouncing back from several days of underperformance. Oil prices are roughly flat as investors await the release of the weekly API inventory report after the close. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the trade deficit widened 8.6% to $48.7B in October, which was larger than expected. Markit’s services PMI fell 0.8 points to 54.5 in the final November print after holding steady at 55.3 in October. The ISM services index slipped 2.7 points to 57.4 in November from a 12-year high of 60.1 in October. In Asia, China’s Caixin services PMI rose to 51.9 in November from 51.2 in October. In Europe, Eurozone retail sales for October fell short of expectations with a decline of 1.1%, which was worse than the 0.7% dip that was expected. The final Eurozone services PMI for November was in-line with the flash reading at 56.2. COMPANY NEWS: A deal for Disney (DIS) to acquire 21st Century Fox’s (FOXA) film and TV studio, its stakes in Sky and Hulu, and some U.S. cable networks could be announced as early as next week, CNBC’s David Faber reported, citing sources. Following the report, shares of Disney are down over 2% near noon, while Class A shares of Fox are up 1%… In other M&A news, Regal Entertainment (RGC) announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement for Cineworld, the U.K.’s largest cinema operator, to acquire Regal for $23.00 in cash for each share of Class A and Class B common stock in a transaction with a total value of $5.9B, including the assumption of debt and net of cash acquired. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Revance Therapeutics (RVNC), which jumped 38% after the company announced positive Phase 3 top-line results for its trial of botulinum toxin RT002 to treat frown lines. Also higher following their earnings reports were Barnes & Noble Education (BNED), which gained 19%, and G-III Apparel (GIII), which rose 13%. Among the noteworthy losers was Edison International (EIX), which dropped 11% after a brush fire in Southern California caused outages that left thousands of Southern California Edison customers without power. Also lower following their earnings reports were Ascena Retail (ASNA), which fell 23%, and Toll Brothers (TOL), which dropped 7%. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 52.48, or 0.22%, to 24,237.57, the Nasdaq was up 28.28, or 0.42%, to 6,803.65, and the S&P 500 was up 0.74, or 0.03%, to 2,640.18.