Stocks edged up Friday as the market continued to claw back Monday's big losses -- leaving the major indexes only marginally lower on the week. The Dow Jones industrial average firmed 0.1 percent while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rose 0.5 percent. Bond yields and the dollar declined while oil prices rose.

Institutional dip-buying helped Friday's market build on momentum from Thursday but the market lacked impetus to do much headed into the weekend. The market continues to feel reassurance about prospects for a soft landing after Thursday's weekly jobless claims report suggested the employment market was not cratering as many feared after a soft monthly employment report last week. Lots of tier one economic reports next week will attract attention including consumer prices, producer prices, and retail sales along with the start of earnings season for big retailers starting with Walmart.

Comments from Federal Reserve officials this week suggested the Fed was unlikely to react to the soft employment report and remained on track for a 25 basis point rate cut at its regular policy meeting in late September.

Among sectors Friday, best performers included entertainment, travel, informational technology services, homebuilders, cruise lines and healthcare technology. Lagging were food, auto parts, transports, machinery and pharma.

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.