Large and small shares: Different as night and day

Since the S&P 500 index broke out to new 6-1/2 year highs on April 16th, the relative performance of blue chip and small cap shares has been as different as night and day.

On the one hand, the blue chip-rich Dow Jones Industrials Average has outperformed the S&P 500 index by 2.9%. In contrast, the Russell 2000 index of small companies has lagged the broad market by 4.2%.

Arguably, the contrasting performance lends further weight to the notion that last month's breakout in the S&P 500 likely served as a catalyst of sorts, forcing institutional fund managers who were sitting on the sidelines to try and put money to work in the equity market as quickly as possible. Invariably, they end up buying exchange-traded funds or the shares of large cap companies, which tend to be the most liquid.

It is also possible that some large investors have decided to lock in hefty profits on the smallest stocks, many of which have been star performers in recent years, by selling into the strength of the overall market.

Whatever the case, the sharply divergent fortunes of large and small cap shares is probably overdone in the near term.

Michael Panzner is a 25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets and the author of Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes and The New Laws of the Stock Market Jungle: An Insider's Guide to Successful Investing in a Changing World.