Stocks rallied Tuesday on a benign US inflation report that was seen leaving open prospects for multiple Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both gained 1.1 percent and the Nasdaq advanced by 1.4 percent. US bond yields were flat to higher while oil prices rose and the dollar declined.

News that consumer prices rose an as-expected 0.2 percent overall on the month and by 0.3 percent excluding food and energy matched expectations and left unaltered the market's expectations for two or even three rate cuts this year. Investors generally were relieved that the CPI report did not show a feared major impact from tariffs on prices of imported goods.

Among sectors, best were big technology shares paced by Meta, plus homebuilders, chipmakers, cruise lines, airlines and trucking. Lagging were tobacco, utilities, waste haulers and health 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.