Major stock indexes recovered from early weakness to end marginally better Monday as investors downplayed initial concerns about the Trump administration threat to prosecute Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both firmed by 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent. US Treasury yields and oil prices rose while the dollar fell.

Stocks and the dollar fell early while bond yields rose on news that the Department of Justice had opened a probe of Powell's handling of the Fed building renovations, and after Powell denounced the DOJ action as part of a pressure campaign to cut interest rates. The escalation of the threat to the Fed's traditional independence is seen as a distinct market negative. But investors appeared to get over their initial concern, as they have in several instance when faced with policy threats from the Trump administration.

The market appeared to focus instead on expectations for positive earnings news as earnings season gets under way soon, and on expectations for a benign inflation reading from US consumer price data due on Tuesday.

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.