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https://images.mktw.net/im-09211139Small-cap stocks are on pace for their best December in history, and for their best month versus their large-cap counterparts since February 2000 — an abrupt turnaround from their sluggish performance through much of this year.
The Russell 2000
RUT,
made up of the 2,000 smallest companies by market capitalization in the Russell 3000
RUA,
has soared 13.7% so far this month and is on pace for its best December on record, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
That performance has seen the index comfortably outpace a 4.9% rise by the S&P 500
SPX
this month to date — with the small-cap equity gauge outperforming the large-cap benchmark by 8.8%, the largest margin since February 2000.
Dow Jones Market Data, FactSet
Read: Beaten-down small-cap stocks are roaring back. Why they could soar in 2024.
The Russell 2000’s December rally shows a reversal of its trend earlier this year, when the index significantly lagged behind the large-cap gauge. Even with its late-year rally, the Russell 2000 still trails the larger indexes with gains of 16.7% so far in 2023, compared to a 24.8% rise by the S&P 500 and a 44.5% increase by the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite
COMP
over the same period.
The Russell 2000 was down 0.5% on Thursday afternoon, while the S&P 500 has risen around 0.1%, according to FactSet data. The Nasdaq Composite was up less than 0.1%.
