Third-quarter financial reports are flowing in as investors parse through mixed data, trying to figure out what’s going on.

• The S&P 500 (SPX) dropped 1.3% Wednesday as earnings data from America’s public companies started to pile in. The broad-based Wall Street benchmark was joined by its two peers – the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq – which slipped 1% and 1.6%, respectively.

• It’s the big banks turn to present corporate earnings. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs fared particularly well during the September quarter. Tesla TSLA disappointed with an earnings miss, leading the stock to a 4.5% after-hours fall, building on the last session’s 4.8% drop. Netflix stock NFLX jumped a mighty 13% after the close on solid earnings.

• In other news, rising bond yields shifted investor attention away from stocks. The yield on the 10-year traded above 4.9%, hitting a 16-year high. Elevated yields make borrowing more expensive. Thanks to the bonds' risk-free returns, they chip away at the stocks’ attractiveness.