The best indicator for Russell 2000 (RUT)
We backtested 366 indicators across daily, weekly and hourly charts on real Russell 2000 (RUT) history. Here's what actually worked — risk-adjusted, out-of-sample, with costs.
Supertrend (14,4)
On the daily chart, this is the strongest risk-adjusted edge we found for Russell 2000 (RUT) over ~38.7 years — trailing buy-and-hold by 0.3% CAGR.
Best multi-indicator combo
Going long only when all 2 agree was the strongest confluence setup we found for Russell 2000 (RUT) — trailing buy-and-hold by 3.5% CAGR, out-of-sample. Fewer, higher-conviction trades than any single indicator.
The winner on each chart
Every indicator, ranked
Ranked by Sharpe (risk-adjusted return). Hypothetical, fees included.
| # | Indicator | TF | CAGR | Sharpe | Max DD | Win | Trades | vs B&H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Supertrend (14,4) ✓ | Daily | 7.3% | 0.61 | -33.3% | 52.8% | 123 | -0.3% |
| 2 | Supertrend (20,3) ✓ | Weekly | 7.7% | 0.61 | -33.6% | 65.5% | 29 | 0.2% |
| 3 | EMA 10/40 Cross ✓ | Daily | 7.3% | 0.6 | -29.3% | 45.2% | 126 | -0.2% |
| 4 | Smoothed Heikin-Ashi ✓ | Weekly | 7.1% | 0.6 | -26.8% | 52.8% | 123 | -0.4% |
| 5 | Trend Magic ✓ | Weekly | 7.3% | 0.6 | -33.9% | 54.7% | 117 | -0.2% |
| 6 | CCI ✓ | Weekly | 6.1% | 0.59 | -31.1% | 86.0% | 43 | -1.4% |
| 7 | EMA 9/26 Cross ✓ | Daily | 7.1% | 0.58 | -36.7% | 44.7% | 170 | -0.5% |
| 8 | DeMarker (21) ✓ | Daily | 6.6% | 0.58 | -38.7% | 48.6% | 348 | -1.0% |
| 9 | WMA 15/60 Cross ✓ | Daily | 7.2% | 0.58 | -37.7% | 50.8% | 122 | -0.4% |
| 10 | Q-Stick ✓ | Weekly | 7.0% | 0.58 | -29.4% | 53.5% | 157 | -0.5% |
| 11 | Ultimate Osc (4,8,16) ✓ | Weekly | 7.6% | 0.58 | -46.7% | 49.1% | 159 | 0.1% |
| 12 | Disparity (50) ✓ | Daily | 6.9% | 0.57 | -38.4% | 38.7% | 333 | -0.6% |
| 13 | EMA 8/21 Cross ✓ | Daily | 6.8% | 0.56 | -37.5% | 41.0% | 212 | -0.7% |
| 14 | Linear Regression Slope ✓ | Daily | 6.9% | 0.56 | -28.6% | 49.3% | 221 | -0.7% |
✓ = held up out-of-sample. Hypothetical, costs included. See methodology.
For Russell 2000 (RUT), Supertrend (14,4) on the daily timeframe gave the best balance of return and risk in our test. It still trailed buy-and-hold on raw return — but remember: this is a hypothetical backtest of a standard rule, not a recommendation. Markets change. See the methodology and disclaimer.
More index
Get the weekly edge report
The best-performing indicator per asset, what changed this week, and the honest caveats — straight to your inbox.