Market Recap for Sep 25, 2026: Dow Leads Gains as Stocks Advance, VIX Falls

U.S. equities closed higher on Sep 25, 2026, with all four major benchmarks ending in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the advance, rising 0.93% to 51,828.62, while the S&P 500 gained 0.51% to 7,743.41 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.48% to 27,068.717. Small caps lagged but still edged higher, with the Russell 2000 up 0.09% to 2,838.1204. Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 5.3% to 14.84, signaling a calmer tone across the session.

Top Movers

Among the session’s biggest gainers, several lower-priced names posted outsized percentage moves. MSGY surged 309.64% to $8.07, GRMLW jumped 114.27% to $1.0499, and MGLD climbed 93.02% to $1.93. Also on the upside, INLF rose 72.88% to $5.1 and AIFF advanced 68.91% to $2.01.

On the downside, AXG posted the steepest decline, tumbling 84.62% to $0.2. IPEX fell 57.75% to $3.16, while NRSNW dropped 55.44% to $0.0401. SLND.WS lost 55.22% to $0.0103, and WYY slid 50.59% to $5.47.

Most Active

Trading volume was heaviest in GPUS, which saw 220,763,541 shares change hands. AIFF followed with volume of 139,681,515, adding to its presence among the day’s biggest gainers. Other heavily traded names included GLND at 117,643,648 shares, AXG at 98,416,487, and INTC at 96,064,804.

Most Talked About

In the news flow, SPY was the most discussed ticker with 42 mentions, with sentiment skewing mostly neutral at 28 neutral, alongside 11 negative and 3 positive mentions. META drew 22 mentions and had a mixed tone with 11 neutral, 6 negative, and 5 positive items.

AKAM stood out for a notably positive skew, with 13 positive mentions out of 18 total. COST also logged 18 mentions, though its sentiment leaned slightly negative with 8 negative, 6 positive, and 4 neutral. NVDA appeared in 15 mentions with a relatively constructive tone, while MSFT and ORCL saw more negative than positive coverage among their 12 and 11 mentions, respectively.

Earnings Watch

Among companies on the earnings calendar, TBN (Tamboran Resources Corporation) carried an analyst EPS estimate of -$0.25 and its shares fell 3.06% on the day. IVA (Inventiva Sociedad Anónima) had an EPS estimate of -$0.2 and rose 3.37%. For LITS (Lite Strategy Incorporated), no EPS estimate was provided, and the stock gained 0.7%. MIVOF also had no estimate listed and finished unchanged on the session. Actual reported EPS figures were not provided here, so the day’s moves only show how shares traded alongside those scheduled reports.

Market Sentiment

Overall news sentiment was relatively balanced but leaned neutral. Of 618 articles tracked, 241 were neutral, 207 were positive, and 170 were negative. That distribution points to a market backdrop with more wait-and-see coverage than strongly directional commentary, while still maintaining a modestly positive tilt over negative headlines.

Looking ahead, the combination of broad index gains and a lower VIX suggests investors ended the week on firmer footing. Even so, sharp moves in several speculative and thinly priced names highlight that risk appetite remained selective, leaving traders to watch whether the broader market can build on Friday’s advance.