More signs of economic weakness weighed on equities Wednesday and fueled a rally in the bond market. Equities failed to mount much of a comeback after Tuesday's big drop though the major averages ended up from the day's worst levels.

The Dow Jones industrial average firmed 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 eased 0.2 percent, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.3 percent. Bond yields, the dollar and oil prices all fell for a second straight day.

In macro news, lower than expected job openings, a soft beige book report, and another fall in oil prices followed Tuesday's soft manufacturing and construction spending reports to feed the view that a sharper than expected downturn is under way. The Bank of Canada's as-expected rate cut and somewhat dovish guidance were additional factors fueling a shift out of risk assets toward fixed income. Lots of focus on Friday's employment report for confirmation of the slowdown scenario. Rising expectations for more aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts are protecting the stock market downside.

Among sectors, worst were homebuilders, machinery, regional banks, energy, apparel makers, dollar stores, and steel. Best performers included defensive sectors like utilities, real estate, consumer staples, plus airlines, autos, insurance and telecom.

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.