As U.S. markets trade through Tuesday’s session, the Russell 2000—Wall Street’s most-watched small-cap index—is navigating a familiar late-year tug-of-war: optimism about easier money versus anxiety about what the economy is really doing beneath the surface. By late morning (around 11:30 a.m. ET) on Dec. 16, 2025, the Russell 2000 was modestly lower and off its intraday highs, reflecting a broader “wait-and-see” mood across equities as investors digest a delayed U.S. labor-market updateand fresh data on consumer spending and inventories. markets.businessinsider.com+2Investopedia+2 With the closing bell still ahead—and several key reports and earnings catalysts arriving after the bell—small-cap traders are increasingly focused on what happens next: interest-rate expectations, credit-sensitive sectors,