Equities ended narrowly mixed but mostly weaker Friday after a very positive week. Many investors chose to trim risk positions headed into the weekend on a perception that equities were due for a correction after rallying on supportive inflation reports.

The Dow industrial average slipped 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.1 percent, and the Nasdaq was off 0.2 percent. US Treasury yields rose while oil prices and the dollar declined.

Equities advanced in the morning and remained bolstered by on several positive earnings surprises from United Health and others. On the negative side Citigroup sold off on disappointing profits to weigh on the major averages. Big technology shares started the day strong but retreated through the afternoon amid profit-taking following their recent run.

UnitedHealth's beat helped health care outperform, along with consumer discretionary and consumer staples. Lagging were financials, energy, utilities, industrials, real estate, technology, and communications services.

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.