Stocks were narrowly mixed Monday as investors awaited a heavy slate of earnings and macro news starting Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average firmed 0.3 percent, the S&P 500 edge up 0.1 percent, and the Nasdaq eased by 0.1 percent. US bond yields, oil prices and the dollar all declined.

A batch of earnings from megacaps is due this week, including Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft. A busy week of tier one macro news this week gets under way with JOLTS job openings and consumer confidence on Tuesday and GDP on Wednesday. Markets remain on tenterhooks awaiting news on US trade talks with major trading partners, amid conflicting comments from the US and China over whether high-level negotiations are even under way.

Meanwhile Nvidia had a bad day amid concerns about competition from China's Huawei. That weighed on semiconductors. Other weak sectors included software, discount stores, oil servicers, chemicals, and food. Best performers included health care, travel & leisure, insurance, chemicals, steel, and health and personal care.

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.