Equities ended narrowly mixed Thursday after a batch of similarly mixed earnings reports in range-bound trading before Friday's employment report. The Dow Jones industrial average eased 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 gained 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq was up 0.5 percent. US bond yields edged up, the dollar rose, and oil prices declined.

Expectations for nonfarm payrolls call for slower growth in January, around 168,000 jobs, down from 256,000 in December. Also in focus will be the annual benchmark revisions, expected to show significantly fewer jobs in 2024 than previously reported. Jobless claims figures released Thursday topped expectations but remained within recent ranges.

On the economic policy front, the market's obsession with Trump tariff threats appears to have receded as investors look more closely at other aspects of the Trump toolkit, including proposed tax cuts. The market appears to be concerned that the administration will be hard-pressed to carry out its agenda given divisions within the Republican party over fiscal policy.

Among stock reacting to earnings, Phillip Morris was a big winner on an earnings and revenue beat. On the downside, Ford had a bad day on disappointing guidance for 2025. Honeywell was another notable decliner on gloomy guidance.

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.