Equities recovered to end nearly flat Thursday after an initial decline on somewhat disappointing consumer price figures. The Dow Jones industrial average firmed 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 percent eased 0.1 percent, and the Nasdaq was flat. US Treasury yields and the dollar declined while oil prices rose.

News that consumer prices rose 3.4 percent in December from a year ago, above the 3.2 percent expected, spurred risk-off selling in equities and then more selling after two more Federal Reserve officials expressed caution about the inflation outlook and the prospect of rate cuts that markets have been expecting this year. A late decline in US Treasury yields helped equities recover from the initial selloff. Strong demand in the day's Treasury 30-year bond auction helped.

Among sectors, crypto-linked stocks had a good day on positive reaction to the Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of ETFs linked to Bitcoin. Most sectors were lower, paced by weakness in financials, real estate, health care, materials and industrials. A rebound in oil prices helped energy stocks outperform.

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.