Equities slipped Wednesday as investors used the Fitch Ratings downgrade of the US credit rating as an excuse to scale back on risk and take profits. The Dow industrial average lost 1.0 percent, the S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent, and the Nasdaq dropped 2.2 percent. US Treasury yields declined at the short end and rose at the long end. The dollar and oil prices fell.

Big technology and megacaps, which paced much of this year's advance, led the selloff, with a spur from rising long yields, including the move well above 4 percent in 10-year yields. Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Tesla, and other big momentum stocks lost 2-3 percent. Big Chinese tech stocks had a terrible day after Chinese authorities proposed curbing mobile phone use by minors.

Earnings came in mixed Wednesday with Humana and CVS Health rising after positive earnings surprises. AMD sold off despite decent results, which spilled over to other stocks, including Nvidia, which have rallied on hopes for a boom in artificial intelligence. SolarEdge Technology dropped on a revenues miss.

Among Dow stocks, Microsoft, Intel, and Boeing dropped while Walgreens popped up with CVS.

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.