Equities ended narrowly mixed Friday with a good showing for selected megacaps helping offset weakness elsewhere. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 percent firmed 0.1 percent, and the Nasdaq was up 0.1 percent. US Treasury yields and the dollar declined while oil prices rose on Mideast tensions.

Megacaps got a lift as bond yields declined and hopes for rate cuts improved after cooler than expected producer price figures soothed inflation worries. On the downside, earnings news came in mixed, including disappointing results from UnitedHealth, which weighed on the Dow industrials.

Among sectors, energy had a good day as oil prices rose amid concern that US-led attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen could expand the Mideast war. Other outperformers included real estate, utilities, communications services and consumer staples. Lagging were industrials, financials, health care and consumer discretionary.

Earnings attention centered on financials with JP Morgan and BNY Mellon outperforming on better results while Bank of America suffered from soft revenues and Wells Fargo featured weak income guidance. Delta Airlines sold off on mixed results. Tesla had a bad day on reports of price cuts and supply disruptions linked to trouble in the Red Sea.

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.