By Jim Brown | The major indexes gave up some gains and all posted significant losses to end the year.

By Jim Brown | The small cap index closed at a new high by .0013 points.

By Jim Brown | The Russell tested resistance at 1,550 again before falling back into negative territory.

By Jim Brown | The small cap index posted only a minor gain but it was the only broad index to do so.

By Jim Brown | The Russell lost ground but it still has a nice pattern of higher lows.

By Jim Brown | The small cap stocks are flat lining despite a minor gain in the Russell today.

By Jim Brown | The market traded sideways most of the day before closing near the lows.

By Jim Brown | The index declines were minimal and it is too soon to discount a continued rally.

By Jim Brown | The expectations for success on tax reform powered the markets to new highs

By Jim Brown | The Russell dropped -1.14% on Thursday to a 3-week low and rebounded 1.55% on Friday to a 2-week high.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 posted the biggest decline with a -1.14% loss.

By Jim Brown | The S&P closed negative but the Dow closed at a new record.

By Jim Brown | The blue chips continued higher but the Nasdaq and Russell posted losses.

By Jim Brown | The Russell lost 2 points to close back below resistance at 1,520.

By Jim Brown | The Russell gained only one point with the Dow up +117. Resistance held.

By Jim Brown | The markets rallied at the open and traded sideways the rest of the day

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 broke support at 1,512 and the 4th day of declines

By Jim Brown | The Dow declined triple digits and the Russell lost 1%.

By Jim Brown | The Dow gapped up 300 and the Nasdaq gave back 72 points as rotation returned.

By Jim Brown | The small cap Russell 2000 fell -3% intraday on Friday.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 gains 1.8 points and the Dow 331 points. Big caps are back in charge.

By Jim Brown | I would really like to know today if the drop was a one-day wonder of the beginning of a trend.

By Jim Brown | The markets exploded higher on multiple headlines as shorts were squeezed.

By Jim Brown | The markets traded sideways as we wait for the tax reform headlines to move the market.

By Jim Brown | Thanksgiving week turned out to be another winner and the trend is intact.

By Jim Brown | The markets paused on low volume after several days of large gains.

By Jim Brown | It looks like the four-weeks of consolidation are over with new highs all around.

By Jim Brown | This is normally a bullish week and we are off to a good start.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 was the only major market index positive on Friday.

By Jim Brown | The short squeeze came right on schedule after six days of declines.

By Jim Brown | After six days of declines on the S&P could we be nearing a bottom?

By Jim Brown | I can hear the Limbo song, "a little lower now" as the Russell continues to make new closing lows.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 closed exactly on 1,475 for the third consecutive day.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes traded flat and there was no rebound on the Russell 2000.

By Jim Brown | The big cap stocks rebounded somewhat but the small caps remained weak.

By Jim Brown | The Russell rebounded only 2 points after the worst one-day decline in more than two months.

By Jim Brown | The Dow and S&P rebounded from their intraday lows thanks to active dip buyers.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes posted only minor gains in a very calm market.

By Jim Brown | Big caps posted gains again but small caps are sliding lower.

By Jim Brown | The Russell posted a minor 3-point rebound but the chart is still bearish.

By Jim Brown | The Russell has traded below prior support at 1,500 for 8 consecutive days.

By Jim Brown | The small cap index rebounded 12 points thanks to the semiconductor sector.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 fell 24-points intraday on a possible hiccup in the tax reform plan.

By Jim Brown | Blowout earnings on the major tech stocks lifted the entire market.

By Jim Brown | Prior support at 1,500 has definitely turned into resistance on the Russell 2000.

By Jim Brown | Weakness in the Russell and Nasdaq could be telegraphing the end of this rally stage.

By Jim Brown | The indexes other than the Dow are telegraphing future weakness.

By Jim Brown | The market suffered a mild case of cloudy weather as prior gains needed to be consolidated.

By Jim Brown | The Russell recovered from its two-week decline to retest the record high close from October 5th.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes recovered from the opening drop with the Dow and S&P positive.

By Jim Brown | Goldman's $6 gain lifted the financial sector and that rescued the Russell.

By Jim Brown | The Dow gained 160 points but the S&P gained less than 2 points and the Nasdaq less than 1 point.

By Jim Brown | Support broke on the Russell 2000 with the index closing under 1,500.

By Jim Brown | The Russell traded slightly under support at 1,500 intraday but recovered at the close.

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes are slowly retracing their gains but there is no urgency.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes stalled at resistance once again as earnings disappoint.

By Jim Brown | The S&P, Nasdaq and Russell gains have stagnated at resistance.

By Jim Brown | Volume returned but it remained modest at 5.6 billion shares.

By Jim Brown | The lowest volume day since July 3rd saw a shortage of buyers.

By Jim Brown | The markets held their ground on Friday despite growing event risk.

By Jim Brown | The first step in the tax reform process occurred today.

By Jim Brown | The Russell traded slightly lower as the end of quarter cash flows faded.

By Jim Brown | Small caps traded negative most of the day as the EOQ cash flows fade.

By Jim Brown | The Russell added another 18 points to its already massive gains.

By Jim Brown | The small cap index added another 2 points to its record run.

By Jim Brown | There is definitely rotation in progress as the Russell added to its gains.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 had a blowout move of 28 points into new high territory.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 caught fire and broke out with a nice gain.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 only gained 1 point but it was a new high.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 was the market leader and closed at a new high.

By Jim Brown | For the second day, headlines on Apple caused a major decline in the stock.

By Jim Brown | Multiple news headlines on Apple tanked the stock and the Nasdaq.

By Jim Brown | The S&P, Nasdaq and Russell posted minimal gains or losses while the Dow continued higher.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 powered to a 9-point gain in a weak market.

By Jim Brown | The Russell pushed through resistance at 1,427 with the old high the next target.

By Jim Brown | North Korea has reportedly launched another missile over Japan.

By Jim Brown | The indexes made new highs but the gains were minor.

By Jim Brown | All the major indexes with the exception of the Russell 2000 made new highs.

By Jim Brown | A monster short squeeze blew out short positions on the major indexes.

By Jim Brown | The big cap techs weighed on the market but the Russell managed to close fractionally positive.

By Jim Brown | The Dow was the drag on the market with several components suffering from negative headlines.

By Jim Brown | The storm clouds hovering over the September market appear to be evaporating.

By Jim Brown | The market decline could have been worse but some indexes closed well off their lows.

By Jim Brown | The Nasdaq closed at a new high but the Dow and S&P came to a dead stop at resistance.

By Jim Brown | The Nasdaq closed at a new high and the S&P is not far behind.

By Jim Brown | All the indexes except the Dow showed surprising strength on Wednesday

By Jim Brown | The market recovery from the opening drop was a passing grade.

By Jim Brown | With the S&P futures down -19 on North Korea, Tuesday could be pivotal.

By Jim Brown | The S&P closed 10 points off its intraday high with only a 4-point gain.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes declined with the exception of the Russell and Biotech Index.

By Jim Brown | The market rose on Tuesday and sank on Wednesday with lowest volume in months.

By Jim Brown | The market short squeeze created some decent gains but there is no change in the trend.

By Jim Brown | The S&P, Russell and Nasdaq tested support intraday and it held.

By Jim Brown | The small cap index touched support this morning before rebounding 12 points intraday.

By Jim Brown | The Russell closed under the 200-day average for the first time since June 2016.

By Jim Brown | Anyone over 40 should understand that warning from Robby the robot.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 rolled over immediately on the opening spike and closed at the low of the day.

By Jim Brown | Monday was another short squeeze where the indexes gapped up at the open then traded sideways the rest of the day.

By Jim Brown | The Nasdaq posted a decent gain but the Dow, S&P and Russell barely avoided a negative close.

By Jim Brown | Since the current Russell decline began on July 26th, the index has fallen -6%.

By Jim Brown | All the indexes rebounded sharply except the Russell 2000, which closed at a two-month low.

By Jim Brown | All the indexes posted strong gains in the morning and losses at the close.

By Jim Brown | All the indexes posted gains but they were far from exciting.

By Jim Brown | The Russell rebounded 0.5% after a -3.3% decline. That is hardly noteworthy.

By Jim Brown | The Russell is in crash mode with another 8 point decline despite the Dow's continued gains.

By Jim Brown | Obviously, nobody can call a market top until a week later but I would be shocked if we move higher.

By Jim Brown | The Dow remains the market leader and helped to lift the other indexes on Tuesday.

By Jim Brown | The Dow was the only positive index and the Russell broke through support.

By Jim Brown | After failing at 1,452 resistance three times, the Russell 2000 has returned to support.

By Jim Brown | When volatility arrives it is normally and violent.

By Jim Brown | Multiple indexes were moving in opposite directions and the S&P was only fractionally positive.

By Jim Brown | Tuesday's rally was all about the Dow earnings before the bell.

By Jim Brown | The Nasdaq was the leader today despite Google's impending earnings.

By Jim Brown | Friday's market performance was typical of an expiration during an earnings cycle.

By Jim Brown | After Wednesday's bullish breakout across the board, equities paused on Thursday.

By Jim Brown | The bulls are running and bears are being trampled.

By Jim Brown | The Nasdaq posted a winning session despite the Dow falling -162 points intraday.

By Jim Brown | It was not a big move at 2.78 points, but it was more than any of the big cap indexes could manage.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 finally managed to push through resistance to close at a new high.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 index closed only 1 point below a new high.

By Jim Brown | The Yellen short squeeze powered the Dow to a new high and lifted the other indexes above resistance.

By Jim Brown | Resistance held on the Dow and S&P but the Nasdaq moved up one level.

By Jim Brown | Monday's market performance started the week off with a thud.

By Jim Brown | While Thursday's close was below support, the indexes picked a new direction on Friday.

By Jim Brown | After several days of alternating moves, the market gave clear directional signals today.

By Jim Brown | The Dow and Nasdaq are giving mixed messages as to direction.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 declined less than a point on Friday and has held support at 1,400 for two weeks.

By Jim Brown | Wednesday's rebound turned into a rout on Thursday.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 rebounded 22 points or 1.54% to post the largest index gain today.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes accelerated lower on Yellen's comments and the cancelled Senate vote.

By Jim Brown | They say, never short a dull market. Apparently, that goes for longs as well.

By Jim Brown | The Russell rebalance on Friday failed to generate the monster volume and the market rallied.

By Jim Brown | The Russell rebalance on Friday will generate the most volume of the year.

By Jim Brown | The Russell will be the focus for the market for the next two days with the rebalance at the close on Friday.

By Jim Brown | The Russell lost 15 points or -1.06% with the largest decline of any of the major indexes.

By Jim Brown | The Russell gained 11 points to pull within 7 points of a new high.

By Jim Brown | Without the FAANG stocks leading the market higher we have seen three days of choppy trading.

By Jim Brown | The major tech indexes retested the lows in a slower version of the Friday flash crash.

By Jim Brown | All the major indexes except the Dow posted losses today.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 Small Cap Index posted a decent gain to close at a new high.

By Jim Brown | The small caps did not sell off on Friday but they caught up today as traders were forced to sell to cover margin calls.

By Jim Brown | The markets diverged significantly as classic rotation upset the indexes.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 roared off to a 19-point gain with the big cap indexes weak.

By Jim Brown | The markets moved slowly sideways as they waited patiently for Thursday's testimony.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 rebounded 8 points from its intraday low to close nearly flat.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes paused on Monday to reconsider their path ahead of some important events.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 high close in April was 1,419 and it ended the day on Friday at 1,408.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 rebounded 41 points, more than 3% from Wednesday's 1,355 low.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 fell -17 points at the open but recovered to close flat. That is encouraging.

By Jim Brown | The big cap indexes declined slightly but the Russell 2000 fell nearly 1%.

By Jim Brown | The big cap stocks, the generals in this war, are setting new highs but the rank and file troops are retreating.

By Jim Brown | The S&P and Nasdaq closed at new highs and the Dow is close. The Russell closed barely positive.

By Jim Brown | The S&P inched higher to close at a new high but the Russell 2000 is only moving tick by tick.

By Jim Brown | The markets posted a minor gain but there was no excitement to push them higher.

By Jim Brown | The markets posted a decent rebound on Monday but the apparent terrorist attack in the UK has sent futures sharply lower.

By Jim Brown | The intraday rebound was respectful but the indexes rolled over in the afternoon to post only a lackluster gain.

By Jim Brown | The rebound after the major market crash was uninspiring and suggests Friday could be volatile.

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes imploded with the Russell falling -39 and the S&P-600 losing 22.

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes were flat, big cap indexes negative and the Nasdaq was soaring.

By Jim Brown | Resistance was untouched on the Russell and S&P-600 as small caps lagged again.

By Jim Brown | We are approaching the annual Russell rebalance and Friday was ranking day.

By Jim Brown | The Dow rebounded from a -150 point drop and the Nasdaq from -53 but it was still a bearish day.

By Jim Brown | Ignoring the Dow's 90 point intraday decline, it was a good day for small caps.

By Jim Brown | All the indexes except the Nasdaq remain stuck in neutral.

By Jim Brown | The big cap averages managed to close in the green thanks to Apple but the small caps are back in their losing trend.

By Jim Brown | The markets traded barely positive all day until 1:30 when buyers began appearing in Apple and other big caps.

By Jim Brown | The intraday dip was bought with just enough energy to return the indexes to the flat line.

By Jim Brown | The markets sold off as expected and the rebound was lackluster.

By Jim Brown | Unfortunately, the small cap indexes are leading us lower rather than higher.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 rebounded 7 points but that was after a 17-point decline on Friday.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 and S&P-600 small cap indexes collapsed with 1.2% declines when the other indexes were barely negative.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 and S&P-600 small cap indexes both held their gains after new highs on Wednesday.

By Jim Brown | Don't look now but the Russell 2000 and S&P-600 small cap indexes both closed at new highs today.

By Jim Brown | The markets continue to be surprised with another 200+ point spike on the Dow thanks to Q1 earnings.

By Jim Brown | The markets rocketed higher on the end of French event risk but there was no follow through buying.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 fell -15 points at the open but recovered to close the day with only a 4 point loss ahead of weekend event risk.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 broke through downtrend and midrange resistance to close within 4 points of a 7-week high.

By Jim Brown | The big Dow loss distracted from the gains in the small caps and the tech sector

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes posted gains while the big cap indexes sank.

By Jim Brown | Many readers might not be old enough to remember the Memorex ads on TV where a singer breaks a glass with her voice.

By Jim Brown | Two days made a world of difference with the small caps going from consecutive days of gains to a crash back to support.

By Jim Brown | The accelerating gains in the small cap stocks came to an abrupt halt on Wednesday.

By Jim Brown | A new trend is developing and it should be positive for the market.

By Jim Brown | It was not much but the small cap indexes posted larger percentage gains than the big caps.

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes closed only a few cents away from zero but that was better than the big cap indexes.

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes posted 1% gains and closed at the highs for the day.

By Jim Brown | We were looking for a headline to boost stocks and the ADP was great but the FOMC was not.

By Jim Brown | The market traded flat at the close after some early morning weakness.

By Jim Brown | Monday was a textbook example of window undressing in the small cap indexes.

By Jim Brown | The first quarter is over and next week we will see if the small cap rotation was real or temporary.

By Jim Brown | The rotation away from big caps and into small cap stocks is in full swing.

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes have risen for three days and the Russell is approaching resistance.

By Jim Brown | The small caps are suddenly recovering nicely with a close at a six-day high

By Jim Brown | The bears missed out on another opportunity to push the markets lower when the dip buyers outnumbered the sellers.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes traded both positive and negative on Friday as headlines from Washington caused uncertainty.

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes actually posted solid gains despite the weak market.

By Jim Brown | The S&P-600 closed at a four-month low again and the Russell 2000 posted a small loss.

By Jim Brown | The S&P-600 closed at a four-month low after a -2.6% decline.

By Jim Brown | The small cap winning streak ended at three days with better than half percent losses on the indexes.

By Jim Brown | The big cap indexes all lost ground but the small cap indexes were big winners.

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes continued to post minor gains while the large cap indexes declined.

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes exploded higher with 1.5% gains as buyers flooded the market.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes all tested critical support at the open and were saved by the dip buyers.

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes have posted two consecutive days of small gains.

By Jim Brown | The S&P-600 rebounded from the intraday low at 825.42 but only managed a gain of 3 points.

By Jim Brown | The S&P-600 declined to within 1 point of critical support at 825. Friday will be a key day

By Jim Brown | The small cap indexes posted big declines and closed at the lows for the day.

By Jim Brown | The S&P-600 and the Russell 2000 both had big losses and closed at the low for the day.

By Jim Brown | The S&P-600 and the Russell 2000 both closed below critical support.

By Jim Brown | The Russell and the S&P-600 continue to show weakness as big caps battle back to positive territory.

By Jim Brown | The Russell has had alternating gains and losses of 1% or more in five of the last six days.

By Jim Brown | The Russell has had alternating gains and losses of 1% or more in four of the last five days.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 gained 1% on Monday and investors cheered. The index lost -1.5% on Tuesday.

By Jim Brown | The big cap indexes posted minimal gains but the Dow and S&P did close at new record highs.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes recovered from a sharp drop at the open to post minor gains for the day.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 has declined -16 points over the last two days from its closing high on Tuesday.

By Jim Brown | Worries over the FOMC minutes and increased chatter about a market top held the indexes back.

By Jim Brown | The small cap index finally found some traction with a 10-point gain.

By Jim Brown | Investors had found a trend they can repeat over and over.

By Jim Brown | The small cap stocks continue to struggle despite the overall bullish market

By Jim Brown | The Russell finally caught fire to breakout over 1,400 after trading negative much of the morning.

By Jim Brown | The market rally actually picked up some speed today and the Russell farther over resistance.

By Jim Brown | There are three factors that are likely to determine market direction on Tuesday.

By Jim Brown | There are probably heel drag markets across the floor of the NYSE where the Russell 2000 was dragged back to a new high.

By Jim Brown | All four major indexes broke out to new highs and hopefully it is the start of a new trend.

By Jim Brown | The Nasdaq made a new high, the Dow floundered, S&P was flat and Russell declined.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 fell -0.4% to be the biggest loser again on Tuesday.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 fell -0.8% to be the biggest loser among the broad market indexes.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes gapped higher at the open due to monster gains in financial stocks

By Jim Brown | Once again, the Russell 2000 was the weakest of all the major indexes.

By Jim Brown | A late day surge by the biotech sector lifted the Russell almost out of negative territory.

By Jim Brown | The biotech sector rebounded +3.7% today and helped lift the Russell and Nasdaq into positive territory

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 lost -1.3% for the day and bounced off critical support at 1,340.

By Jim Brown | After two days of low volume and minimal ranges we have to decide if this is consolidation or preparation.

By Jim Brown | The small caps barely participated in the rally over the prior two days and were weakest on Thursday.

By Jim Brown | After two days of a short squeeze, it appears the market has picked a direction.

By Jim Brown | All the major indexes moved significantly higher in morning trading but lost traction in the afternoon.

By Jim Brown | The indexes rebounded from their opening lows but failed to return to positive territory.

By Jim Brown | The successful removal of the event risk lifted the markets at the close.

By Jim Brown | The Dow and Russell both closed at new five-week lows.

By Jim Brown | The Dow was negative and the Nasdaq positive but the numbers were very small.

By Jim Brown | The Russell closed at a five-week low after losing 20 points.

By Jim Brown | For five weeks now, the Dow and S&P have been stuck in a sideways trend.

By Jim Brown | Sellers are lowering the resistance levels with each passing day but buyers are still active.

By Jim Brown | The major indexes survived a major hit intraday and still finished positive.

By Jim Brown | The biotech sector rallied for the sixth consecutive day thanks to the JP Morgan conference

By Jim Brown | Small cap stocks always lead the market up and down and the Russell 2000 is at critical support.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 declined again despite the new highs on the Nasdaq and S&P.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 exploded higher by 31 points on Wednesday and lost -16 today.

By Jim Brown | The Russell 2000 exploded higher by 31 points to close right at the prior resistance high.

By Jim Brown | The market detoured from the end of week declines after better than expected numbers from China sparked a rally.

By Jim Brown | The market avoided a sharp decline as buyers paired with sellers on the pension fund rebalance.