Market Recap for Sep 22, 2026: Nasdaq, Small Caps Advance as Dow Slips

U.S. equities finished mixed on Sep. 22, 2026, as strength in growth and smaller-cap shares contrasted with weakness in blue chips. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.45% to 27,244.277 and the Russell 2000 gained 0.54% to 2,890.7578, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36% to 51,863.69. The S&P 500 was little changed at 7,764.64. Volatility eased, with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) down 3.9% to 14.29, pointing to calmer risk sentiment by the close.

Top Movers

Trading was marked by extreme moves among several lower-priced stocks and warrants.

• JAGX surged 1190.64% to $34.46, easily leading the gainers.
• SLND.WS climbed 126.73% to $0.0229, while LHSW advanced 105.33% to $0.8891.
• GRMLW rose 83.23% to $0.33, and KFIIR added 73.36% to $0.0898.

On the downside:

• RIV.RT dropped 85.71% to $0.0001.
• GPATW fell 63.64% to $0.04, and NTRBW lost 59.29% to $0.7205.
• SOS declined 54.62% to $0.3486, while KLXER slipped 54.17% to $0.0022.

Most Active

Volume was heaviest in ZEO, which traded 404,753,491 shares. LHSW was also heavily traded with 342,323,158 shares, adding unusually strong turnover to its triple-digit percentage gain. Other actively traded names included FAMI with 198,382,092 shares, GRAB with 179,653,177, and QNME with 131,130,581.

Most Talked About

SPY led news attention with 55 mentions, though coverage skewed largely neutral: 43 neutral, 8 negative, and 4 positive. Among single stocks, META drew 37 mentions with a relatively constructive tone at 17 positive, 6 negative, and 14 neutral.

Alphabet's share classes were both prominent, with GOOGL receiving 20 mentions (8 positive, 1 negative, 11 neutral) and GOOG drawing 19 mentions (9 positive, 1 negative, 9 neutral). AMZN logged 18 mentions, while MSFT and NVDA each had 16. Notably, NVDA showed the strongest sentiment profile among the most-mentioned names, with 11 positive, 0 negative, and 5 neutral articles. AAPL rounded out the list with 14 mentions.

Earnings Watch

Several companies were scheduled to report earnings today. Only analyst EPS estimates and the stocks' market reaction are available here, not the actual reported EPS figures.

• THOR Industries (THO): EPS estimate $0.95; shares rose 5.63%.
• Worthington Enterprises (WOR): EPS estimate $0.76; shares gained 1.24%.
• MillerKnoll (MLKN): EPS estimate $0.35; shares slipped 0.15%.
• American Resources (AREC): EPS estimate -$0.09; shares rose 2.78%.
• ZenaTech (ZENA): EPS estimate -$0.21; shares gained 0.65%.
• Aytu BioPharma (AYTU): EPS estimate -$0.22; shares advanced 5.69%.
• Gores Holdings X (GTEN): EPS estimate N/A; shares fell 0.57%.
• Elme Communities (ELME): EPS estimate N/A; shares declined 0.86%.
• Alps Group (ALPS): EPS estimate N/A; shares edged down 0.03%.
• Atlantic American (AAME): EPS estimate N/A; shares rose 1.48%.

Market Sentiment

News flow was broadly balanced. Of 678 articles tracked during the session, 267 were positive, 155 negative, and 256 neutral. That mix suggests a market backdrop that leaned constructive overall, but without a decisive bullish consensus, consistent with the split performance across the major indices.

With the S&P 500 essentially flat, the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 carrying the upside, and volatility easing, investors appeared willing to take selective risk even as the Dow lagged. The next session will show whether that rotation into growth and smaller-cap names can broaden out into a firmer market-wide advance.