Stocks ended narrowly mixed but mostly higher Wednesday in an uncertain response to a second day of comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Some sectors saw bargain-hunting and a bounceback from Tuesday's big drop, including chemicals, and metals & mining. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.2 percent, the S&P 500 firmed 0.1 percent and the NASDAQ was up 0.4 percent. US Treasury yields and the dollar rose while oil prices slipped.

After Tuesday's selloff in risk assets -- after the Fed chief appeared to signal a more aggressive Fed anti-inflation stance, including a 50 basis point rate hike in March -- investors keyed on Powell's new comment that no decision had been made yet about rates for the next meeting. But the general sense remains that barring major downside surprises in the next batch of data releases, the Fed will step up its rate hike pace and take rates higher for longer.

Sectors were mixed with chipmakers and other hardware stocks boosting technology. Real estate and utilities were among the day's best performers, along with convenience stores, building materials, plus parcels & logistics.

On the downside, energy lagged with oil prices down on recession worries. Big banks, life insurance, and health care stocks had a bad day. Consumer discretionary stocks suffered from weakness in restaurants, department stores, EVs, and cruiselines.

Market Reflections track market reaction to the trading day's major events. Economic data, policymaker speeches, and company news are featured in this report as well as key indexes and financial instruments.

Understanding why markets respond as they do is fundamental for an investor. Market Reflections help explain how the day's events, news, and data impact the outlook for the economy and for market prices.