Stocks opened in positive territory, thanks in part to strong earnings reports and a wave of merger announcements. The averages found a level in the opening hour and drifted for most of the morning before paring their gains and ultimately crossing into negative ground during afternoon trading. The selling was broad based, as each of the averages fell at least 0.5%, with investors beginning to look toward the next round of earnings. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., personal income rose 0.3% in March, with spending rising 0.4%. The Chicago PMI rose 0.2 points to 57.6 in April. An index of pending home sales rose 0.4% to 107.6 in March. In Asia, China’s official manufacturing PMI for April came in at 51.4, versus the consensus call for a 51.3 reading, and its non-manufacturing PMI was reported to be 54.8, versus the 54.5 consensus forecast. COMPANY NEWS: It was big day for deals, headlined by T-Mobile (TMUS) and Sprint’s (S) agreement to merge in an all-stock transaction. Based on closing share prices on April 27, the deal represents a total implied enterprise value of approximately $59B for Sprint and approximately $146B for the combined company. T-Mobile closed 6% lower following the deal announcement, while Sprint fell nearly 14%… Among the billions of dollars in other deal announcements made over the weekend and this morning were Walmart’s (WMT) agreement to combine Asda Group, Walmart’s wholly owned U.K. retail subsidiary, with J Sainsbury (JSAIY); Marathon Petroleum’s (MPC) agreement to acquire Andeavor (ANDV) in a merger pact representing a total equity value of $23.3B and total enterprise value of $35.6B; and Marriott Vacations’ (VAC) agreement to buy ILG (ILG) in a cash and stock transaction with an implied equity value of approximately $4.7B… Headlining the earnings reporting was Dow member McDonald’s (MCD), which rose almost 6% after the burger giant’s earnings, revenue and international results beat expectations… Disney’s (DIS) $4B purchase of Marvel continues to pay dividends at the box office, as “Avengers: Infinity War” set records for the top domestic and worldwide debut of all time, grossing $250M in North America and $380M overseas for a global total of $630M… In related news, Twitter (TWTR) rose 4.5% after it and Disney announced a new live content and advertising agreement, under which the two will announce specific live shows in development this week at their NewFront presentations… Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice said, according to media reports, that if the AT&T (T) takeover is not rejected outright on regulatory grounds, then there should be structural remedies. Fox Business Network’s Charles Gasparino later tweeted that the DOJ is leaning toward an appeal if they lose the Time Warner (TWX) and AT&T case. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Financial Engines (FNGN), which jumped 31.5% after it agreed to be acquired by Hellman & Friedman for $45 per share in cash. Also higher was First Data (FDC), which gained 19% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers were Arconic (ARNC) and Allergan (AGN), which fell a respective 21% and 5% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: The Dow fell 148.04, or 0.61%, to 24,163.15, the Nasdaq lost 53.53, or 0.75%, to 7,066.27, and the S&P 500 declined 21.86, or 0.82%, to 2,648.05.