Equities wavered again Thursday as global bond yields continued to rise and investors were cautious ahead of earnings from Apple and Amazon. The S&P 500 suffered a third day of declines and looked headed for a negative week after four straight weeks of gains. Risk-off pressure persisted after the surprise Fitch Ratings downgrade of the US credit rating.

The Dow industrial average eased 0.2 percent, the S&P 500 declined 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq eased 0.1 percent. US Treasury yields, the dollar, and oil prices all rose. Bond yields have been pressured higher on heavy new US Treasury supply coming to market, upside economic data surprises, and more hawkish noises from Federal Reserve officials and the Bank of England after its relatively modest 25 basis point rate increase Thursday.

Among sectors, energy outperformed as oil prices rallied on more Saudi output cuts. Big technology shares were mostly better along with banks, industrial metals, and retail & apparel. Lagging were homebuilders, airlines, telecom, utilities, restaurants, and machinery.

On a busy earnings day, S&P winners included Westrock, Cognizant Tech, and Chlorox, while Expedia was the day's featured loser on a revenues miss.

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.