Equities ended mixed but mostly higher Thursday with strength in consumer discretionary and technology shares offsetting weakness centered in cyclicals. The Dow industrials was flat, the S&P 500 firmed 0.4 percent, and the Nasdaq was up 1.0 percent. US Treasury yields rose while oil prices and the dollar fell.

Relatively aggressive rate hikes from the Bank of England, Norges Bank, and the Swiss National Bank added to worries about inflation and a possible hit to global growth.

Cyclicals were also hurt by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's latest reiteration that more rate increases are likely. Bank stocks got whacked by Powell's comments about problems in commercial real estate. Energy stocks lagged with oil's selloff on Powell's rate warning. Other declining sectors included industrials, materials, real estate, and utilities.

On the positive side, megacaps led the winners, with Amazon bouncing back from Wednesday's selloff after the Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon over its Amazon Prime practices. Tesla bounced back too after its big drop on Wednesday.

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.