After weeks of listless action, the Russell 2000 (IWM) has suddenly come to life. A second day of strong buying ranked as accumulation, has offered volume comparable to the selling in March (but now as buying).
The relative performance hasn't fully moved in the Russell 2000s favor, but it's only a day away from outperforming both the strongly performing Nasdaq and the S&P 500. Once it gets to $187s, it will start to run into congestion/resistance from the start of the year.
The Nasdaq has edged a little higher, holding on to its breakout, but likely requiring a test of the 20-day MA before it kicks on again. Nasdaq trading volume has fallen while the Russell 2000 has gained.
Technicals are firmly net bullish, and while that may be a cue to sell, it's only when technicals move to an oversold state that these concerns become more relevant.
The S&P 500 regained the small loss it posted yesterday, keeping it at the upper end of Friday's range. Technicals are bullish, although it's now sharply underperforming relative to the Russell 2000 after a long period of outperformance.
For tomorrow, we will want to see a further short squeeze, particularly for the Russell 2000, as it moves towards weekly resistance around $195s (with $187s liked to be challenged tomorrow).
Technicals on the weekly time frame for this index are now net bullish, matching the picture in the Nasdaq and S&P 500.
