Equities maintained their recent uptrend Monday with all sectors higher on positive underlying momentum after last week's rally. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 advanced 1.0 percent, and the Nasdaq rallied 1.2 percent. Bond yields were mixed with shorter maturities up and longer maturities lower. The dollar rose and oil prices dropped.

Stock trading lacked conviction as investors await Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes due Wednesday and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's hugely anticipated appearance on Friday morning at the Fed's Jackson Hole conference. Comments from San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari played into the market's optimism about rate cuts ahead.

Leading the day's advance were chipmakers and megacaps including Microsoft, Netflix and Amazon. Best performing sectors included communications services, consumer discretionary, energy, financials and real estate. U.S. Steel was a notable loser after former President Trump repeated that he would block Nippon Steel's acquisition of the U.S. giant.

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.