The small-cap Russell 2000 index touched a record intraday high of 2,541.67 earlier on Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. will set price floors across industries to take on China.
As of afternoon trading, the Russell 2000 was on track to reach its fifth record closing level of the year, trading up by 0.7% at around 2,514. Bessent’s remarks came during an interview with CNBC, in which he said that “we’re going to set price floors,” and do so across a range of industries.