Stocks ended marginally higher Wednesday after weakness in technology shares gave way to late dip-buying and short covering. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both firmed 0.1 percent, and the Nasdaq lost 0.3 percent. US Treasury yields and oil prices rose while the dollar was mixed but mostly weaker.

Consolidative pressures kept the market on defense much of the day. A selloff in Nvidia ahead of the chipmaker's long-awaited earnings report due after the close, and losses in Palo Alto Networks weighed on stocks early. Growth stocks lagged value and cyclicals.

Trading was tentative ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting minutes released at midafternoon, and the Nvidia results. The FOMC minutes drew a muted reaction as they echoed public comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials since the meeting.

Among sectors, technology lagged, with notable weakness in Microsoft . On the positive side, best were consumer staples, energy, utilities, real estate, and consumer discretionary.

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.