Equities recovered from early weakness to close flat to mostly better Thursday in cautious trading ahead of Friday's US jobs data and market holiday. The Dow industrials were flat, the S&P 500 firmed 0.4 percent, and the Nasdaq was up 0.8 percent. US Treasury yields were mixed with shorter yields higher while longer yields declined. The dollar and oil prices declined.

A series of downside surprises in US employment indicators have fueled more talk of a hard landing and the market remains preoccupied by worry over fallout from regional banking troubles. Comments from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard were generally supportive, as he downplayed concern about a credit crunch, and said first quarter economic performance has been strong.

In Thursday's action, a rebound in several megacaps, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft, boosted the averages through the afternoon and helped the NASDAQ outperform. Sectors were mixed with best performers including airlines, pharma, biotech, big technology, regional banks. Lagging were chemicals, builders, energy, credit cards, machinery, apparel & accessories.

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.