Since hitting an interim low on March 5, the NASDAQ Composite index has rallied 10.3%. However, the large cap-laden NASDAQ 100 index has done even better, outpacing the broader benchmark by four percentage points.

In part, the relative outperformance of the narrower measure reflects the fact that investors have increasingly favored large, well-known companies with broad exposure to booming economies around the globe.

More recently, unsettled market conditions have spurred investors to seek shelter in the shares of firms that might fare better than those with less resources at their disposal.

Still, given the near-vertical trajectory of the relative advance and the fact that the NDX (which has an equivalent exchange-traded fund, or ETF (NASDAQ: QQQQ) ) is nearing multi-year resistance relative to the Composite, odds are that the narrower measure is poised to lose a bit of steam, at least 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.