Equities were mostly higher Monday with technology shares leading. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.5 percent as it fell back from Friday's close about 40,000. The S&P 500 firmed 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 0.7 percent to a new record closing high. Bond yields rose while oil prices and the dollar fell.

Growth and momentum stocks outperformed value and cyclicals. Chipmakers advanced in sympathy with Nvidia as investors anticipated upbeat earnings from the AI chip leader. Cruise stocks were among the best performers after Norwegian Cruise Lines rallied on better than expected results. On the downside, JP Morgan weighed on the Dow after CEO Jamie Dimon appeared to rule out buybacks at current levels and suggested planning for his retirement was moving ahead.

News that Target would cut prices on many popular items attracted attention as a negative for its sales results and for resilience of consumer spending, but as a positive as it played into hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Fed officials Monday repeated their recent line that inflation is coming down over time but that progress was uneven and policy was well positioned where it is.

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.