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September Market Recap
Inspired by the resumption of Fed
rate cuts, on September 18, the
Russell 2000 Index finally closed
above its previous all-time high
reached on November 8, 2021,
nearly four years ago. With almost
all other major equity market
indices having already reclaimed
their respective all-time highs either
in 2024 or early 2025, it is one of
the last ones to achieve that mark.
Year-to-date as of the close on
September 30, it has gained
10.39%, not too far behind the
14.83% gain of the S&P 500 Index.
While it is a good sign of further
broadening out of the stock market
as the last holdout reclaimed its all-
time high, some healthy dose of
caution is warranted. With its year-
to-date gain of 10.39%, the Russell
2000 Index has more than doubled
the 4.24% year-to-date gain of the
S&P 600 Index, another widely
followed small cap index. According
to Bloomberg, the S&P 600 Index is
a higher quality small cap index
with approximately 20% of its
companies unprofitable versus
nearly 40% of the companies in the
Russell 2000 Index.
Russell 2000 Index Finally Reclaims All-Time High
Price return data from YCharts.
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9/30/2021 1/31/2022 5/31/2022 9/30/2022 1/31/2023 5/31/2023 9/30/2023 1/31/2024 5/31/2024 9/30/2024 1/31/2025 5/31/2025 9/30/2025
The Russell 2000 Endured Nearly Four Challenging Years
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