Year to date, small and micro caps stocks don’t have much to brag about when compared to the S&P 500, as both are lagging by several percentage points.
Below looks at their performance versus the broad market over the past 30 days, which shows that both are much stronger of late.
Small and micro caps have been creating look-alike patterns for the past few years, reflected in the chart below.
Both are attempting to break out of a sideways trading range of late at (1). It's possible that both have created a base over the past 9 months to push higher.
The price action of late is positive for both and could send a positive message to the broad market as well. Stock-market bulls want to see a breakout continue. They turn cautious, though, if both get back into the blue shaded trading range.