Dow Leads Major Indices Higher as Small-Caps Stall and Volatility Hits Individual Names Hard

2026-09-26 · Money Checkup market briefing

Stocks edged higher again this week, with all four major indices closing in the green, though the real story wasn't the indices — it was the wide gap between calm index-level gains and wild swings in individual names, where some stocks more than doubled while others lost over a third of their value in just five trading days.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the pack, up 0.93% to close at 51,828.62. The S&P 500 gained 0.51% to 7,743.41, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.48% to 27,068.72. The Russell 2000, tracking smaller companies, barely budged, adding just 0.07% to finish at 2,837.55. That gap between the Dow's nearly 1% gain and the Russell's flat week suggests larger, more established companies had a better week than the small-cap universe as a whole — even as some of the smallest names on the list posted the market's biggest individual moves.

Those individual moves were dramatic. Jaguar Health (JAGX) surged 184.1%, and Surrozen (SRZN) jumped 78.5%, with GRAIL (GRAL), AVAX ONE Technology (AVX), and Chaince Digital Holdings (CD) all posting gains above 50%. On the other side, Compass Therapeutics (CMPX) fell 40.5%, Triller Group (ILLR) dropped 38.2%, and Getty Images Holdings (GETY) lost 37.0%. Cullinan Therapeutics (CGEM), Alkami Technology (ALKT), Beyond Meat (BYND), Deep Fission (FISN), and Kodiak AI (KDK) all posted double-digit losses as well. Several names on both lists are small, thinly traded, or story-driven stocks, which helps explain why single-week swings of this size are possible.

At the industry level, the strongest performer was Electronics Distribution, up an average of 30.2%, though that figure is based on a single company (GameStop). Consumer Specialties gained 13.8% across three companies including Signet Jewelers, Vestis, and Fossil Group. Precision Instruments rose 11.3% (again a single-company reading, Neogenomics), while the more broadly-represented Biotechnology: Laboratory Analytical Instruments group — 11 companies including Agilent Technologies, Waters, and Mettler Toledo — climbed 9.4%. Finance Companies, with five names including Encore Capital Group and PRA Group, added 8.1%.

The weak side of the ledger was led by Tobacco, down 29.5% on a single-company basis (Turning Point Brands), followed by Blank Checks (-24.9%, two companies) and Coal Mining, which fell 16.0% across five names including Warrior Met Coal, Core Natural Resources, and Peabody Energy. Multi-Sector Companies dropped 15.5% (four names including InterDigital and Digital Turbine), and Books fell 14.8% on weakness at John Wiley & Sons and Scholastic.

On the filings front, six companies filed annual reports this week. Campbell's (CPB) posted a Health Score of 71.3, Thor Industries (THO) came in at 73.9, and AIRWA (YYAI) scored 78.7 — all in solid territory. On the weaker end, Nutanix (NTNX) filed with a Health Score of 37.1, United Natural Foods (UNFI) at 42.5, and Aeluma (ALMU) at just 19.5, the lowest of the group. Separately, five companies remain flagged with going-concern audit notes, meaning their auditors have expressed substantial doubt about their ability to continue operating as-is: Entrada Therapeutics (TRDA), FS KKR Capital (FSK), Bain Capital Specialty Finance (BCSF), New Mountain Finance (NMFC), and Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR).

This week is a good reminder that index-level calm can mask a lot of turbulence underneath. For readers trying to make sense of moves like these, Money Checkup's screener lets you filter by Health Score to see how a company's fundamentals stack up before a headline number grabs your attention, and the going-concern and recent-10-K flags are built right into individual stock pages for exactly this kind of check.

Not investment advice. Data and analysis only.