Small-Cap Stocks Match a Record Streak of Big Advances

  • Russell 2000 caps sixth consecutive day of gains over 1%
  • RTY tends to be positive/outperform in month after such runs
Rotation Into Small Caps 'Has Legs,' Says Shalett of Morgan Stanley
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Just as Wall Street began to fret the U.S. equity rally was too dependent on a few lumbering technology giants, small-cap stocks took the baton and started sprinting.

The Russell 2000 Index continued its tremendous recent run of form on Wednesday, up 4.8% and capping its sixth straight advance of at least 1%. Such a streak only occurred in January 2000 and may signal further gains in the month ahead, according to an analysis from Bespoke Investment Group. The gauge has climbed about 15% since the close of April 21, compared with an almost 7.5% increase for the S&P 500 Index.

After four consecutive sessions of rallies of that magnitude, the gauge has gone on to post positive returns and outperform the S&P 500 Index over the next month in 10 of the prior 11 instances, Bespoke said.