Donald Trump's return to the White House sparked a big move higher in small-cap stocks. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF , which track the small-cap index, surged 6% in the premarket. That gain would mark the ETF's best day since 2022. The fund is also on track for its fourth-largest opening gap – the difference between its open price and the previous close –on record, SentimenTrader founder Jason Goepfert noted.
Wednesday's gains in small caps were led by private prison stocks Geo Group and CoreCivic , which were up roughly 20% each. Crypto-related stocks Riot Platforms and TeraWulf surged 12% each. Small-cap stocks have trailed their large-cap counterparts this year. IWM is up 11.7% in 2024, while the S & P 500 has soared more than 21% in that time. IWM .