The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was down 9.45 (-0.02%) points today, closing at 53,559.99, as the market entered a period of consolidation following recent volatility. The main narrative driving the market on this Friday, August 28th, 2026, was a cautious reaction to the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index data. While inflation appears to be stabilizing near the Federal Reserve's 2% target, investors remained hesitant to push indices higher ahead of next month’s policy meeting, resulting in a nearly flat performance for the blue-chip index.
Leading the gainers today was 3M (MMM), which surged 3.70% to $148.62 following a favorable legal settlement update that cleared a path for improved forward guidance. Technology and healthcare also provided support, with Nvidia (NVDA) rising 1.77% to $225.01 and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) climbing 1.61% to $227.63. Other notable performers included Cisco Systems (CSCO), which gained 1.33%, and UnitedHealth Group (UNH), which finished up 1.00% at $399.64.
Conversely, the index was dragged down by significant weakness in the industrial and consumer discretionary sectors. IBM (IBM) was the biggest loser, falling 2.42% to $213.40 amid concerns over slowing enterprise cloud spending. Home Depot (HD) also saw a sharp decline of 2.14% to $303.85 as mortgage rate volatility continued to pressure the housing market. Other laggards included Salesforce (CRM), which dropped 1.64%, and Sherwin-Williams (SHW), which fell 1.36%, as traders rotated out of cyclical stocks in favor of defensive positions.
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.