Stocks shrugged off a surprisingly big jump in wholesale prices to end higher Tuesday as bond yields declined. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq was up by 0.8 percent. The dollar rose and oil prices slipped.

Megacaps and technology shares perked up in the afternoon to lead the major indexes higher despite a bigger than expected 0.5 percent jump in producer prices in April. Investors appeared to focus on a downward revision to the prior month to show a decline of 0.1 percent from the 0.2 percent rise originally reported. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell described the report as mixed while repeating his recent stance that rates are unlikely to go higher but may need to stay high for longer while the Fed watches data for signs inflation has been whipped.

Among megacaps, Alphabet was a leader to the upside after unveiling new artificial intelligence features. Meme stocks extended their outsized gains after Monday's reappearance of one of their cheerleaders and the evident return of retail traders. Small cap stocks also outperformed. Among sectors, best were airlines, autos, media, chemicals, real estate, retail, and fund managers. Lagging were food, health & personal care, railroads, parcels & logistics, pharma, and aerospace & defense.

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.