On The Fly: Weekly technical notes for Russell 2000

For the week the Russell 2000 (RUT) is set to end lower, with price last at 1518 at time of writing. Like the S&P 500 (SPX), the Russell saw a big jump in prices on Thursday that then collapsed to a new low for the week. In the week ahead, the big support band to watch is at the 1500-1480 area. There is a potential bearish cup and handle on the daily chart that would trigger below 1500, which would be bearish for future price. Resistance is at the 1530-1550 area. Notably the Russell peaked in price more than a month ago, which may signal more difficult conditions ahead for markets more generally as it tends to lead in either direction. As with the S&P 500, the big drop in sector breadth is reflected in a deeply negative Financials group with additional under-performance in Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples.