The Russell 2000 index of small-capitalization shares rose slightly on Wednesday, erasing an early decline and outperforming other major gauges of the U.S. stock market. The index RUT, +0.38% inched into positive territory after opening lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.40% fell 0.6% while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.08% lost 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.18% was down 0.3%. Stocks were lower as tweets from President Donald Trump suggested he was weighing the possibility of a military strike in Syria and that tensions with Russia were growing. The news was the latest bit of political tension weighing on markets, along with uncertainty surrounding trade relations between the U.S. and China. Small-cap stocks are seen as having less of an impact from these factors, as the components typically derive a higher portion of their revenue domestically, as opposed to overseas markets that could see more turbulence from changing political conditions. The Russell is up 0.5% thus far this year, compared with the 1% drop in the S&p and the 1.8% decline in the Dow, which is heavily weighted toward multinational stocks.