Small Caps Continue to Outperform

Small-caps have been outperforming for a while-they are up almost 4% in September-but today was an exceptional 2% move higher, its best one-day performance since March 1. That compares with the S&P 500, which is a paltry 0.2% higher by comparison today, and up only about 0.5% for the month.

It is easy to attribute this bump, which has been on the back of such over-performing stocks like Overstock.com Inc. (OSTK)  , Advaxis Inc. (ADXS)  , and Lannett Co. (LCI)  , on renewed hope of tax cuts, or "reform" if you prefer.

Elsewhere in the markets, crude oil prices continued their run-up after a weekly reading on U.S. stockpiles showed a surprise decline in inventories over the past week. However, the uptick in crude prices hasn't quite translated to an overall boon for the sector as investors sheepishly await earnings from the energy sector. Eyes are on bellwethers like Halliburton Co. (HAL) , Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)  and Chevron Corp. (CVX).

We'll keep the sports theme going for one more day. Nike Inc. (NKE) managed an earnings beat, driven by cost-cutting, share repurchases and low retail expectations, but sales of Converse dropped 16%. Andrew Campion, CFO of the Beaverton, Ore.-based company, said the bulk of the decline was in North America, despite "high-double-digit growth in China."

He attributed the decline to "a purposeful tightening of supply in North America."

Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal

Junior Trader Stefan Panteleev

Read more:

• USA ADP Nonfarm Employment Change: 202K vs 160K
• Iran response was ‘too fast and too furious’ on the U.S. airstrike
• USA – ISM Non-manufacturing PMI: 55.0 vs 54.5
• Top 5 things to watch on Tuesday
• Noise: How to Overcome the High, Hidden Cost of Inconsistent Decision Making