Russell 2000 Extends Record Run, Electricity Stocks Swing: What's Moving Markets Friday?

Small caps continued their upward march, with the Russell 2000 notching a fresh all-time high for the eleventh consecutive session and outperforming the S&P 500 for eleven straight days—the longest such streak since 2008.

Wall Street investors appear to be rotating into small- and mid-cap names, which are increasingly seen as offering the greatest potential for earnings surprises, supported by expectations of strong U.S. economic momentum in the final quarter of last year.

Industrial production rose by a stronger-than-expected 0.4% last month, retail sales continued to signal resilient consumer spending, and initial jobless claims helped ease concerns about a softening labor market. At the same time, tariff-related price pressures remained contained.

Taken together, the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model estimates that the U.S. economy expanded at a robust 5.3% annualized pace in the fourth quarter.

By midday trading in New York, large-cap indices were broadly flat, while the Russell 2000 rose 0.5%.

The biggest stock moves on Friday were concentrated in electricity-related names. President Donald Trump's push to accelerate the construction of power plants to support AI data centers sparked a sharp rally in energy equipment makers, while weighing on existing power producers amid investor concerns that the White House could cap electricity prices, potentially affecting long-term contracts.

Shares of GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE:GEV) surged more than 7%, while electricity generators Constellation Energy Corp. (NYSE:CEG) and Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) plunged 10% and 8%, respectively.

In the technology sector, Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) jumped more than 5%, leading gains on the Nasdaq 100 after board member Mark Liu purchased $7.8 million worth of company shares.

Precious metals pulled back sharply following recent strong gains. Gold slipped 0.7% to around $4,580 per ounce, while silver tumbled more than 4% to $88.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell 0.8% to $94,500. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar edged slightly higher after Trump indicated that Kevin Hassett is unlikely to be the next Federal Reserve chair, suggesting he may prefer to keep Hassett in his current role as National Economic Council director.

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rose 0.4% to $266.58.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) slipped 0.1% to $494.10.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) edged down 0.03% to $621.60.
• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) ticked up 0.08% to $637.16.
• Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) led gains, up 0.9% to $42.08.
• Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) underperformed, down 0.9% to $48.53.

Russell 1000’s Top Gainers

Russell 1000’s Top Losers

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