Market session recap for Friday, September 26, 2025

U.S. equity markets closed higher on Friday as investors appeared largely unconcerned by a fresh round of tariffs announced by the White House. The S&P 500 finished up 0.6 percent while the Dow, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 also posted gains for the session. The market reaction reinforced a broader theme that many traders and portfolio managers view these trade actions as manageable rather than market changing.

The tariffs announced this week include new duties of 30 percent to 50 percent on certain furniture items such as kitchen cabinets and upholstered pieces, a 25 percent levy on heavy trucks and a sweeping 100 percent tariff on imported pharmaceuticals from manufacturers that are not building plants in the United States. Those measures might have been expected to rattle supply chains and profit margins. Instead, equities moved higher on the first day of trading after the policy was made public.

Market participants and strategists offered a pragmatic reading of the reaction. One research group observed that equity and fixed income investors have largely taken the view that additional tariffs are not likely to change the broad market outlook. The comment noted that even some individual stock moves during the morning trading session showed only modest concern, a view borne out by the session’s outcome.

That calm was visible at the company level. Wayfair experienced an early drop but recovered to close up 1.6 percent. The luxury retailer RH, which had felt the impact of earlier furniture duties, fell 4.2 percent on the session but remained well above its level from early August. Truck manufacturers showed divergent moves tied to supply chain exposure. Daimler Truck, which relies on imports for heavy-duty trucks in the U.S., closed down about 1.8 percent. Paccar, which manufactures the bulk of its trucks domestically, climbed 5.2 percent. These idiosyncratic moves underline how tariffs are being parsed on a case by case basis by investors rather than prompting a broad sector selloff.

Observers who track corporate and supply responses highlight that mitigation strategies are still being developed. One chief equity strategist cautioned that it remains to be seen whether suppliers, companies or consumers will ultimately absorb the bulk of any tariff-related price increases. For now investors appear to be taking comfort from the view that companies have avenues to manage costs or alter sourcing without inflicting large, immediate damage on earnings.

Beyond trade policy, corporate and industry news provided additional texture to the market story. Footwear maker Crocs rallied 6.6 percent after launching a new advertising push for its HeyDude brand featuring actress Sydney Sweeney. The gain illustrates how targeted marketing and product momentum can drive meaningful single stock performance even in a session dominated by macro headlines.

In the consulting and technology space, a terse comment from Accenture’s chief executive drew attention during the company’s earnings call. The executive said, “We are exiting on a compressed timeline people where reskilling, based on our experience, is not a viable path for the skills we need.” The remark underscores the rising pressure on firms to accelerate AI adoption and to recalibrate workforce strategies. Markets frequently reprice companies based on how quickly they can embed new technologies and reduce costs. The statement signals that some large employers are moving beyond gradual retraining plans and are instead making more immediate decisions about personnel and capabilities. Investors will be watching for how these actions affect productivity, margins and contract delivery in coming quarters.

Automotive safety headlines also made news. BMW issued a recall for nearly 200,000 vehicles, including certain 2022 X4 models, over an engine starter relay defect that can cause corrosion and engine overheating. The company urged owners to park affected vehicles outdoors until repairs are completed. Recalls of this scale can influence parts suppliers and service networks even if the direct impact on a manufacturer’s stock is often limited to short term volatility.

Other corporate developments with potential market implications included reports that ByteDance is likely to retain roughly half of the profit from the U.S. operation of TikTok even after a sale to U.S. investors. That arrangement would leave U.S. buyers and investors with a more complex profit-sharing picture than a straightforward acquisition. In real estate, profit margins on house flipping have fallen to the lowest level since 2008, driven primarily by higher initial purchase prices. Lower margins in that niche illustrate the pressure facing operators when acquisition costs rise faster than resale values.

On a lighter note, a consumer product case ended with a federal judge dismissing a lawsuit against Hershey brought by customers who alleged deceptive packaging on seasonal Reese’s products. The court found the plaintiffs did not prove economic injury, a decision that removes uncertainty for investors in Hershey and highlights how consumer litigation outcomes can be binary and swift.

Looking ahead, the market’s current posture suggests investors are balancing headline risk with the underlying view that corporate earnings and domestic demand are strong enough to absorb localized tariff measures. The sequence that will matter next includes how companies implement mitigation plans, whether input cost rises are passed to consumers or absorbed by margins and how technology-driven restructuring efforts unfold across professional services and tech companies. For now, the equity market’s response on Friday reflects a preference among traders to price in manageability rather than crisis.

As the week closes, traders and portfolio managers will be parsing earnings updates, supply chain commentary and any additional policy clarifications. Those developments should help determine if the sanguine finish to this trading day becomes a durable trend or a temporary pause before renewed volatility. For investors focused on sector exposures, the message from this session was clear. Policy shocks are being sorted through a company lens and winners and losers are emerging at the stock level rather than across entire indexes.

Measured risk management remains essential. The interplay between trade measures, corporate cost structures and rapid technological change will continue to create opportunities and challenges for active managers and long term investors alike. Friday’s session was another reminder that headlines move prices but company fundamentals and execution still drive returns over time.