The Russell 2000 Index, historically known for its consistent performance, is experiencing its worst start to a year ever in 2024. The small-cap index is lagging behind the large-cap S&P 500 by nearly 15 percentage points, marking the largest underperformance since 1998. This shift is attributed to sky-high interest rates, according to Bloomberg. Historically, the Russell 2000 has often outperformed the S&P 500, with both indices showing nearly identical growth since their inception, with the Russell 2000 slightly ahead (+4,913% vs +4,898%). However, since the October 2022 low, the Russell 2000 has significantly lagged behind the S&P 500, a stark contrast to its performance following previous bear markets.
The large cap S&P 500 is outperforming the small cap Russell 2000 by more than 15% this year, the biggest outperformance we've seen since 1998. https://t.co/l5IYmkf6Ih https://t.co/SoA4aFRHbN
One of these is not like the others ... since the October 2022 low, the Russell 2000 has lagged the S&P 500 considerably. That was certainly not the case coming out of the bear markets we've had in the past 20 years (2020 in blue, 2009 in purple, 2002 in red) https://t.co/40x1IHdzkQ
🚨BRUTAL: US small-cap stocks on track for WORST start in history Russell 2000 is lagging the S&P 500 by nearly 15 percentage points in 2024, per Bloomberg. Putting it on pace for its worst start to a year ever versus the broader benchmark. WHY? Sky-high interest rates make… https://t.co/myAs8Wpsan
The chart below shows the ratio of the Russell 2000 since inception in 1979 to the S&P 100. Over the entire period, both indices are up by nearly identical amounts with the Russell 2000 even outperforming by a very slight margin (+4,913% vs +4,898%). https://t.co/1y7x7G0GM0
Fun fact: The Russell 2000 Index goes back to 1978; and before this past January, it had been outperforming the S&P 500 over that timeframe (quite consistently, actually). Now, large caps are in the lead https://t.co/u2Tsl51eC6
The biggest US companies have been dominating the equity market for well over a decade. As a result, the outperformance of US large caps (S&P 500) over small caps (Russell 2000) is now at its most extreme level since November 24, 1999. What happened in the 7 years following the… https://t.co/gRAMfamqXe