The GovCon Index posted a modest gain of 0.247 points to 73.958 Friday on a new Labor Department jobs report that investors believe does not indicate further interest rate hikes at the moment.
Friday’s positive close puts the Index at a gain of 2.082 percent for the week to record its third consecutive five-day period in positive movement.
The S&P 500 composite index posted a gain for the fourth consecutive week and closed one-hundredth of a point shy of the 2, 000-point mark Friday investors use as a gauge to measure overall U.S. financial market health.
Index stock Engility Holdings (NYSE: EGL) surged 8.22 percent a day after the Chantilly, Virginia-based government services contractor posted full-year revenue that met analyst expectations and fourth quarter sales that exceeded Wall Street’s outlook despite net losses for both time frames.
Engility’s Friday gain narrows the stock price’s respective year-to-date and 12-month declines to 46.92 and 51.4 percent, while the 52-week range is $11.46-$37.97.
Heavy truck manufacturer Navistar International (NYSE: NAV) rose 2.68 percent and is up 20.06 percent over two days since its CEO told Reuters he is open to more partnerships or potential deals as means to continue on the company’s turnaround.
Navistar’s stock is up 25.51 percent since the start of the year and down 61.38 percent over 12 months with the 52-week range at $5.78-$31.28.
Stocks rose after DOL said U.S. businesses added 242, 000 jobs in February to top economists’ expectations by 52, 000 but lower wages and hours tempered traders’ expectations for a rate increase at the Federal Reserve‘s March 15-16 meeting, Reuters reported.
Top GovCon Index Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EGL | Engility Holdings | 17.24 | 1.31 | 8.22% |
| I | Intelsat | 1.99 | 0.10 | 5.29% |
| MANT | ManTech International | 30.23 | 1.01 | 3.46% |
| NAV | Navistar International | 11.13 | 0.29 | 2.68% |
| BAH | Booz Allen Hamilton | 29.10 | 0.52 | 1.82% |
Market Summary
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 23 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 7 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 73.958 | +0.247 | +0.335% |
| S&P 500 | 1, 999.99 | +6.59 | +0.33% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 17, 006.77 | +62.87 | +0.37% |
| NASDAQ | 4, 717.02 | +9.60 | +0.20% |
