Stocks drifted sideways in a light session with both the Dow and Nasdaq closing fractionally changed, at 40,539 and 17,370. Economic news was light in Monday's session but will pick up dramatically through the week: Federal Reserve policy statement on Wednesday, ISM manufacturing Thursday, and the monthly employment report on Friday. Going into the week's numbers, US data have been modestly beating expectations, at a score of 15 on Econoday's Relative Performance Index.

McDonald's rose 3.7 percent despite posting the first same-store decline (minus 1 percent) since the beginning of the pandemic, the result of price increases as the burger chain's value leadership has recently shrunk, as stated by its chairman. Other companies to post quarterly earnings this week include Microsoft on Tuesday, Meta on Wednesday, and Amazon and Apple on Thursday.

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.