Equities ended narrowly mixed Monday as bond yields retreated. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent, and the Nasdaq firmed 0.3 percent on the day. US Treasury yields and oil prices declined while the dollar was mostly higher.

Investor Bill Ackman's comment that he had covered his short position in long-term Treasuries set off a rally in Treasuries that supported equities somewhat, but the up-move faltered in the afternoon. Megacaps had a decent day to boost the major averages. Worries about the Middle East tended to undercut risk appetite.

Energy stocks had a bad day as Chevron sold off on news it would buy its smaller competitor, Hess, and on a decline in oil prices. Trading was cautious ahead of a big batch of earnings this week from Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta.

Among sectors, technology, consumer discretionary, communications services, and consumer staples outperformed while lagging were materials, health care, financials, real estate, in addition to energy.

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.