The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 124.00 (0.2372%) points today, Thursday, June 25th, 2026, as investors reacted to a stronger-than-expected manufacturing output report and stabilizing inflation expectations. The primary narrative driving the market is a "soft landing" scenario, where the Federal Reserve successfully curbs price growth without triggering a recession. This optimism provided a lift to industrial giants and high-growth technology firms, offsetting concerns regarding high interest rates in the retail and service sectors.
Leading the blue-chip index, 3M Company (MMM) was up 3.70% to $148.62, buoyed by a favorable legal settlement and improved quarterly guidance. The semiconductor sector also showed significant strength as Nvidia (NVDA) was up 1.77% to $225.00, continuing its dominance in the AI infrastructure space. Other notable gainers included healthcare leader Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), which was up 1.61% to $227.63, and networking giant Cisco Systems (CSCO), which was up 1.33% to $100.48.
Conversely, the market faced headwinds from the enterprise tech and consumer discretionary sectors. IBM (IBM) was down 2.42% to $213.40 following a cautious outlook on corporate cloud spending. Similarly, Home Depot (HD) was down 2.14% to $303.84 as high mortgage rates continued to dampen the home improvement market. Other laggards included Salesforce (CRM), which was down 1.64%, and Sherwin-Williams (SHW), which was down 1.36%, reflecting broader volatility in construction and software services.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.