Stocks were mixed Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's consumer price report which could well set expectations for the coming FOMC meeting and whether yet another rate hike is in store. The Dow rose 0.3 percent, the S&P rose 0.1 percent, and the NASDAQ fell 0.4 percent.

The day's economic news was led by another downtick to 90.1 for the small business optimism index which has languished below its 49-year average of 98, and often far below, for the last 15 months. Small businesses, according to the report, continue to cite"inflation" as their"single most important problem".

Expectations for March's CPI report are not benign; Econoday's consensus for the ex-food ex-energy core is an overheated 0.4 percent monthly increase that would push the annual rate up a tenth to a still enormously elevated 5.6 percent.

Bitcoin rose above $30,000 for the first time in 10 months, lifting crypto-related shares sharply higher: Coinbase Global up 6.1 percent and Riot Platforms up 17.0 ROIT. Used-car dealer CarMax jumped 9.6 percent after beating estimates while Moderna fell 3.1 percent after its flu vaccine flopped in a late-stage trial.

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.