The total market capitalization of the Russell 2000 small-cap stock index jumped 84% over the past year amid the surging popularity of meme stocks and significant growth in the overall size of U.S.-listed companies.
The market value of the index is now $3.5 trillion, according to benchmark provider FTSE Russell. The smallest stock on the Russell 2000, Velocity Financial Inc., is worth $257 million, up 171% from the $95 million value of the smallest stock in May 2020.
The jump in the small cap companies reflected “the overall bounce back of U.S. equity markets following the Covid-19 recession in early 2020,” Catherine Yoshimoto, FTSE Russell director of product management, said in the statement.
FTSE Russell gave the update as it announced its preliminary list of companies that will join or leave its Russell 3000 Index and Russell Microcap Index.
The Russell 2000 has been in the spotlight because of high-profile members AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and GameStop Corp., both of which have surged in value since the beginning of the year as social media-inspired retail traders have piled in. As a result, they’re likely to be removed from the small-cap index.
