Stocks saw broad gains Thursday as investors see global central banks pushing down interest rates to boost growth. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq both rose 0.6 percent while the S&P 500 firmed 0.4 percent to a new record high. Bond yields and the dollar gained and oil prices slipped.

China's rate cuts and pledges of more stimulus, plus the Swiss National Bank's action along with the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, have fed the view that growth and profits -- will pick up. Latest weekly US jobless claims figures, which came in well below expectations, also supported the narrative that any landing will be soft.

Among sectors, chipmakers led the day's winners after Micron reported much better than expected quarterly results to lift technology stocks. Other outperformers included materials, industrials and financials as cyclicals had a great day. Lagging were energy, real estate and utilities. Energy suffered as oil prices dropped on reports suggesting Saudi and Libya plan to boost output.

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.