Equities hovered around the flatline again to end narrowly mixed Monday with the Nasdaq lagging amid caution before megacap earnings. The Dow industrials rose 0.2 percent, the S&P 500 firmed 0.1 percent, and the Nasdaq was down 0.3 percent. US Treasury yields declined, oil prices rose, and the dollar was mixed.

Megacaps sagged ahead of reports due this week from Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft. Tesla was another big drag on the averages as investors reacted badly to its capital expenditures guidance calling for heavy investment. Risk appetite was also limited by uncertainty ahead of US inflation and growth data due this week.

Among sectors, best performers included industrials, materials, energy, health care, and consumer staples. Lagging were financials, consumer discretionary, real estate, and information technology.

Among energy stocks, Chevron and Haliburton were leaders, with Haliburton up ahead of its earnings report. Albemarle, the lithium miner, rallied after the company downplayed the impact of possible nationalization of Chile's lithium mines. Among media companies, Fox sold off on news its host Tucker Carlson was leaving the network.

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.