Market index
Russell 2000
An index of 2,000 US small-cap stocks, domestically oriented and rate-sensitive through heavier debt loads. Its performance relative to large-cap benchmarks shows how broadly a US rally extends and how deep risk appetite really runs.
At a glance
Russell 2000: latest value and prior change
As of 2026-09-04, Russell 2000 is 2,976 pt. It is 7.38 pt higher than 2,968 pt on 2026-09-03.
Within the default comparison window of 1,000 observations from 2022-09-12 to 2026-09-04, the latest value is at the tie-adjusted 97th percentile. Available history covers 1987-09-10 to 2026-09-04 with 9,821 observations.
- Observed on
- Default comparison window
- 2022-09-12–2026-09-04
- Observations · observed cadence
- 1,000 · Daily
- Data source
- Yahoo Finance
A high or low percentile does not by itself make the indicator positive, negative, or a buy or sell signal.
Time-series chart
Russell 2000
1987-09-10–2026-09-04
Long-history series are stored as real provider observations. Index, FX, VIX, and ratio charts use historical backfill where providers expose it; Korean investor flow and margin-credit feeds expand as stable historical endpoints become available.
Recent observations and calculated changes
The ten latest chart observations. Change subtracts the previous observation; intervals vary with holidays, release schedules and missing data. A difference in rates or ratios is not an investment return.
| Observed | Value | Previous date | Difference (current − previous) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-04 | 2,976 pt | 2026-09-03 | 7.38 pt |
| 2026-09-03 | 2,968 pt | 2026-09-02 | 15.10 pt |
| 2026-09-02 | 2,953 pt | 2026-09-01 | 33.04 pt |
| 2026-09-01 | 2,920 pt | 2026-08-31 | -36.32 pt |
| 2026-08-31 | 2,956 pt | 2026-08-28 | -15.92 pt |
| 2026-08-28 | 2,972 pt | 2026-08-27 | -41.97 pt |
| 2026-08-27 | 3,014 pt | 2026-08-26 | 8.44 pt |
| 2026-08-26 | 3,006 pt | 2026-08-25 | -4.12 pt |
| 2026-08-25 | 3,010 pt | 2026-08-24 | 14.94 pt |
| 2026-08-24 | 2,995 pt | 2026-08-21 | -22.79 pt |
Source: Yahoo Finance
Interpretation guide
The Russell 2000: a small-cap thermometer for the breadth of risk appetite
The Russell 2000 holds the 2,000 US companies ranked 1,001st to 3,000th by market capitalization. In an era when large-cap indexes have become report cards for a few mega-cap tech names, this index shows what the market will pay for the ordinary businesses underneath the US economy — the baseline for judging whether a rally is broad or narrow.
Why its constitution differs from large caps
Russell 2000 companies earn mostly at home, carry more floating-rate and short-maturity debt, and include a far higher share of unprofitable firms than any large-cap benchmark. The result is a rate and cycle sensitivity fundamentally unlike the S&P 500's, despite both being US equities.
- With a substantial share of loss-making constituents, funding conditions often matter more than earnings for the index.
- Short refinancing schedules mean rate cuts relieve Russell 2000 interest burdens before they reach large caps.
- The domestic tilt limits damage from a strong dollar but exposes the index more directly to a US slowdown.
Both sides of the rate-cut trade
Every revival of cut expectations has spawned another attempted rotation of the Russell 2000 past large caps. The catch is what kind of cuts. Insurance cuts on tamed inflation make the debt relief a clean positive; recession-fighting cuts make collapsing revenue a bigger force than cheaper interest.
- A Russell surge on cut hopes alone should not be called the start of a rotation until growth data confirms.
- A falling US Treasury 2Y paired with Russell strength is the combination that says markets are betting on a soft landing.
- Given its credit sensitivity, Russell bounces during widening US High Yield OAS phases tend to lack staying power.
Reading it as relative strength, plus the Korea angle
After years of lagging large caps, the Russell 2000's information lives in its relative strength versus the S&P 500 rather than its level. Its character also places it closest to Korea's KOSDAQ, making the pair a useful check on small-cap appetite across both markets.
- A trend change in the Russell-to-S&P 500 ratio is the baseline test of whether a rally is spreading beyond a few names.
- The Russell sitting far below its highs while the S&P 500 makes new ones flags narrow breadth — a bull market's weak point.
- Watch it beside TapeFlow's KOSDAQ index to see whether small-cap risk appetite is reviving in the US and Korea together.