On The Fly: Weekly technical notes for Russell 2000

The Russell 2000 (RUT) will close out the week at a new high if price does not slip lower later in the session. The move up in the Russell was broadly higher earlier in the week, setting a new intraday high at 1405.21. That becomes initial resistance, with a push above that level likely to open a run to the 1410 to 1430 area. In a longer-term view, if price does return to meet the prior uptrend that was interrupted in June 2015, the 1500 area looks to be the objective. A move back below 1390 - and more especially the 1380 area - would be cause for concern and call the latest spike into question. The longer-term uptrend wouldn't be threatened until a drop below 1315. For the week, the index saw the same broad participation as the large caps. This broad breadth is essential for the health of the rally. The strongest sectors for the week on a relative basis were Health Care, Basic Materials, the Financials, and Technology. Only Consumer Non-Cyclicals and Telecommunications Services were in the red, by a fraction.