US stocks higher but Time Warner, AT&T fall

Shares of AT&T and Time Warner fell Monday after their proposed mega-merger sparked criticism from leading politicians, but gains by technology companies helped push the broader market higher.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index led the major indices, climbing 1.0 percent to 5,309.83.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 percent to 18,233.03, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent to 2,151.33.

Time Warner dropped 3.0 percent and AT&T 1.7 percent as they girded for tough scrutiny over their merger, valued at $108 billion.

The deal was sharply criticized by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and drew skepticism from several leading Democrats, including vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine.

Shares of Amazon jumped 2.3 percent and Google parent Alphabet 1.7 percent ahead of earnings reports later this week. Apple, which reports late Tuesday, climbed 0.9 percent.

Action also focused on a series of smaller merger and acquisition announcements and quarterly earnings reports.

B/E Aerospace, a supplier of aircraft cabin equipment, surged 16.4 percent on news it will be bought by Rockwell Collins for $6.4 billion in cash and stock plus $1.9 billion in the assumption of debt. Rockwell Collins fell 6.2 percent.

TD Ameritrade lost 4.4 percent following an announcement that it will buy privately-held Scottrade for $4 billion, combining two large online brokerages.

T-Mobile US jumped 9.5 percent after announcing that third-quarter net profit more than doubled to $1.1 billion as it added two million wireless customers.

Kimberly-Clark fell 4.7 percent after third-quarter earnings and revenues missed expectations, with chief executive Thomas Falk pointing to "a more challenging economic and competitive environment."

Petroleum-linked shares were mostly lower as oil prices declined. Dow member Chevron lost 0.6 percent, Devon Energy 2.3 percent and Apache 1.0 percent.