Relief Rally Spreads to Small-Cap Stocks

The relief rally in U.S. stocks spread to smaller companies Thursday, sending the Russell 2000 index to a record close after President Trump backed off his threats to impose tariffs on European countries over Greenland.

Broad-based buying pushed up both huge technology companies and middle-market manufacturers. The Russell finished 0.8% higher, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.9%, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.6%, or 307 points, to 49384.