Equities ended narrowly mixed Thursday after plunging Wednesday as many traders saw the selloff as overdone -- but an early rally attempt fizzled. The Dow firmed 0.1 percent while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both eased 0.1 percent. US Treasury yields were split with shorter maturity yields lower and longer yields higher. The dollar fell and oil prices slipped.

Lower short Treasury yields reflected a recalibration of Federal Reserve rate cut expectations. On Wednesday after the Fed announcement and press conference, the market downgraded the odds of a second rate increase to about 25 percent but on Thursday, as investors reassessed, the odds for a second rate cut improved to about 50 percent. Longer yields, on the other hand, continued higher, with the 10-year yield rising well above 4.50 percent, on the view that longer-term inflation and Treasury supply dynamics are worsening.

The move up in longer yields weighed on growth stocks which gave back early gains to restrain the major averages. Among megacaps, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla ended lower after rising at the open. Best sectors included utilities, financials, information technology and consumer discretionary. Lagging were energy, real estate, health care and materials.

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.