The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up 188.73 (0.37%) points today, reaching 51,538.71, as investors weighed a complex mix of cooling inflation data against a backdrop of varied corporate earnings. Dow Futures (YM=F) also signaled cautious optimism, trading up 91.00 (0.18%) at 51,808.00. The primary narrative driving the market this Friday, September 25th, 2026, is the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index report, which suggested that the Federal Reserve may have room for further interest rate adjustments, sparking a rotation into industrial and defensive sectors.
Leading the blue-chip index, 3M (MMM) was up 3.70% to $148.62 following a favorable legal settlement update and an analyst upgrade. The technology sector provided mixed results; while Nvidia (NVDA) was up 1.77% to $225.01 on continued AI infrastructure demand, other tech giants faced headwinds. Healthcare and defensive plays also showed strength, with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) up 1.61% to $227.63 and Cisco Systems (CSCO) up 1.33% to $100.48.
Conversely, the market saw significant pressure from the enterprise software and retail segments. IBM (IBM) was down 2.42% to $213.40, emerging as the session's deepest laggard following a cautious outlook on cloud spending. Home Depot (HD) was down 2.14% to $303.85, as high mortgage rates continued to dampen home improvement sentiment. Other notable decliners included Salesforce (CRM), which was down 1.64% to $168.45, and JPMorgan Chase (JPM), which was down 1.12% to $301.51 amid a broader cooling in the financial sector.
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.