Equities gave back initial gains to end marginally higher Wednesday amid profit-taking on Tuesday's rally and as doubts returned over the end to the Federal Reserve'e tightening campaign. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.5 percent, the S&P 500 firmed 0.2 percent, and the Nasdaq was up 0.1 percent. US Treasury yields and the dollar rose while oil prices slipped.

Stocks appeared poised to extend some of Tuesday's rally after better than expected consumer price figures were followed by better than expected producer price figures on Wednesday and retail sales data suggesting the market's desired soft landing was under way. But risk assets came under selling pressure in the afternoon after San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly told the Financial Times the Fed should not claim victory over inflation too soon, and declined to rule out another rate increase.

On the positive side Wednesday were quarterly results from Target that topped expectations and added to perceptions that a seasonal rally would continue. Sirius XM was another winner on news that investor Warren Buffett had taken a large stake.

Consumer staples led the day's gains as seven of 11 S&P sectors advanced. Other leaders included financials and communications services. Lagging were technology, utilities, and energy. Energy stocks had a bad day on news of an unexpected rise in US oil inventories over the last two weeks and as risk appetite faded in the afternoon.

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.