Russell 2000 hits ATH as altcoin long bias stays high. Why does this combination matter for the outlook of an altcoin season?

The Russell 2000 index has already been in a sharp uptrend over the past three months, but Craig Johnson, the chief market technician at Piper Sandler , believes the small-cap benchmark is on the ...

Altcoins gain momentum as long positions dominate shorts in Q1 2026. Russell 2000 hits record highs, boosting risk-on sentiment.

While the three major indexes were struggling for direction, the small-cap Russell 2000 was solidly in the green. The Russell 2000 was trading at 2,529.13 on Thursday, above its previous record close.

Conventional wisdom holds that small-cap stocks are riskier than their large-cap counterparts. Over the past decade, the Russell 2000 saw a maximum drawdown of 41.75%, while the S&P 500’s was 33.79%.

Russell 1000 outperformed Russell 2000 in Q2, consistent with the 12M trend. Segmenting Russell Top 200 resumed its outperformance of Russell Midcap, after lagging during Q1. Both large-cap and ...