If you follow small cap stocks at all, you know they have been underperforming for quite awhile now. The chart below shows the relative strength of the Russell 2000 vs the S&P 500 over the last 12 months. When the line is rising, small cap stocks are outperforming the S&P 500 and vice versa. As shown, small caps have been making a number of lower highs relative to the S&P 500 over the last several months. Interestingly, the most recent peak came on 9/14, which was the exact day that the S&P 500 peaked. For those that would argue that the market needs small caps to lead in any rally, this chart would be exhibit one.
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