Stock Market Today: Small-Cap Stocks Sprint Out of the Blocks
Small caps enjoyed an explosive pop Monday, helped by a coalition of meme stocks and innovative growth plays, but blue chips recorded a more modest finish.


Small caps raced ahead Monday, while the major blue-chip indexes produced more mixed results, as investors continued to digest last week's jobs report and several other moving macroeconomic parts.
President Joe Biden on Friday rejected the GOP's most recent infrastructure package but was set to meet today with Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, of West Virginia, to continue negotiations.
Also of note were comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who said Biden's spending plans could lead to higher interest rates – but that such a result "would actually be a plus for society's point of view and the Fed's point of view," adding that both rates and inflation have been too low over the past decade.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Don't expect higher rates anytime soon, however; BlackRock Investment Institute strategists say the Federal Reserve "faces a very high bar to change its easy monetary policy stance."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.4% to 34,630) and S&P 500 (off marginally to 4,226) both declined modestly, while the Nasdaq Composite managed a 0.5% gain to 13,881. The tech-heavy index was helped by a massive 38.3% surge in Biogen (BIIB) shares, which came alive after the Food and Drug Administration approved the company's Alzheimer's treatment.
"We had upgraded BIIB on the potential for the regulatory saga around adu to create significant upside," says Canaccord Genuity analyst Sumant Kulkarni (Buy). "Some might take profits here, but we continue to like the stock as today's approval allows BIIB to play much more strategic offense vs. what was a largely defensive posture earlier forced by competition to core products such as Tecfidera, Spinraza, etc."
Other action in the stock market today:
- Eli Lilly (LLY, +10.2%) surged to a record high today on a halo lift from BIIB. The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical firm is developing its own drug to treat Alzheimer's disease.
- Tesla (TSLA, +1.0%) has ended plans to produce the Plaid+ sedan – the priciest version of its Model S series. CEO Elon Musk broke the news via Twitter on Sunday, tweeting "Plaid+ is canceled. No need, as Plaid is just so good."
- U.S. crude oil futures slipped 0.6% to end at $69.23 per barrel.
- Gold futures gave back 0.4% to settle at $1,898.80 an ounce.
- The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) edged 0.1% higher to 16.44.
- Bitcoin prices declined 3.3% from Friday to $35,679.55. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.)
Small-Cap Stocks Come Out on Top
As a group, small-cap stocks were Monday's biggest winner. The Russell 2000 gained 1.4% to 2,319, putting it within 2.0% of its March 15 closing high of 2,360.
"The Reddit favorites are back in vogue again today," says Michael Reinking, senior market strategist for the New York Stock Exchange, referring to so-called meme stocks such as AMC Entertainment (AMC, +14.8%) and GameStop (GME, +12.7%).
But they weren't alone. Cloud computing, electric vehicles and online gambling were among Monday's more exciting pockets of strength.
More broadly, it was a productive day for "innovative growth stocks" – companies that are somehow breaking the mold in their respective industries. Analysts are particularly high on these 15 firms' long-term prospects, lauding not just their breakthrough technologies, but also adept management concerned with sustainable cash flows and returning capital to shareholders. Take a look at 15 innovators that stand out.
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of WealthUp, a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of people of all ages. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.
Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism.
You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley.
-
Want To Retire at 55? See If You Can Answer These Five Questions
Who said you can’t retire at 55? If you say yes to these questions, you may be on your way to an early retirement.
-
I'm 57 with $4.1 million and looking to retire abroad in a few years. I no longer see the point in contributing to my 401(k). Am I wrong?
We ask financial experts for advice.
-
Markets Prepare for August Inflation Data: Stock Market Today
Apple CEO Tim Cook is still important, but price action this week is as much about incoming inflation data ahead of next week's Fed meeting.
-
Stocks Slip as Job Growth Stalls: Stock Market Today
The August jobs report came in much weaker than expected, while the unemployment rate ticked higher.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Sherwin-Williams Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Sherwin-Williams stock has clobbered the broader market by a wide margin for a long time.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into UnitedHealth Group Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
UNH stock was a massive market beater for ages — until it wasn't.
-
Dow Retreats From a Record High: Stock Market Today
Quietly rising since April, Home Depot stock was conspicuously constructive Tuesday as high-profile tech names dragged equity indexes down.
-
Nasdaq Ends the Week at a New High: Stock Market Today
The S&P 500 came within a hair of a new high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average still has yet to hit a fresh peak in 2025.
-
Stocks Swing Lower as Eli Lilly, Fortinet Spiral: Stock Market Today
The main indexes finished well off their session highs after a disappointing batch of corporate earnings reports.
-
What Tariffs Mean for Your Sector Exposure
New, higher and changing tariffs will ripple through the economy and into share prices for many quarters to come.