Equities advanced Thursday as the market welcomed House passage of a debt limit extension and anticipated final Senate passage later this week. The Dow industrials rose 0.5 percent, the S&P 500 gained 1.0 percent, and the Nasdaq was up 1.3 percent. US Treasury yields declined while oil prices and the dollar rose.

A mixed batch of economic data releases and Federal Reserve comments generally left intact investor expectations for a pause in Fed rate hikes at the June meeting even as the market sees another rate increase this year. Bulls focused on better inflation news with a downward revision in unit labor costs and a drop in the prices component of the ISM manufacturing report. Bears seized on higher than expected ADP employment figures and jobless claims figures pointed to a tight job market.

FANMAGs had a good day to underpin the major averages. Regional banks outperformed along with energy, health care, autos, homebuilders, transports, chemicals, and machinery. On the downside, retailers, pharma, grocery stores, food, and utilities lagged.

Dollar General was the day's featured loser as it dropped on misses in quarterly earnings, revenues, and same-store sales. C3.ai was another notable decliner after the AI business downgraded its revenue guidance. Salesforce also dipped as investors disliked its sales and profits outlook.

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.