The Russell 2000 is an index comprised of 2,000 small cap US stocks, which means all of them have a market capitalization of between $300 million and $2 billion. Most of these stocks are based in the U.S. and derive the majority of their profits domestically.

So why does the Russell 2000 matter? How has it been performing?

The index sheds light on how small cap stocks are performing. It also shows what the market thinks about US only stocks compared to multinational stocks. Over the last two weeks, the Russell 2000 Index has been booming. Not only did hit new all-time highs last week, it has also closed higher for eleven straight days: