The GovCon Index was no exception to the effects of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union on global financial markets Friday as the GCI recorded its worst one-day percentage drop of 2016 by 2.805 percent to 77.327.
Friday’s plunge brought the GCI from a weekly gain to a five-day loss of 1.175 percent and cuts the Index’s rise from the start of the year to 7.334 percent.
By comparison, the U.S. stock market bellwether S&P 500 composite index that contains 11 GCI companies fell 3.6 percent Friday and entered negative territory on a year-to-date basis at the close.
Bloomberg Television reported this was the worst one-day selloff for U.S. stocks since August.
Shares in British defense contractor BAE Systems PLC plummeted 13.07 percent in U.S. over-the-counter markets, while the company’s stock on the London exchange fell 4.6 percent.
Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) was the GCI’s lone bright spot Friday at a gain of 92 cents, while Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) turned downward in the final 10 minutes of trade and closed at a decline of 30 cents after a peak gain of 1.17 percent in the morning session.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) turned positive for a brief period shortly before 11 a.m. Eastern time before a retreat back into negative as no other GovCon Index stock approached gains during intraday trade, while Boeing (NYSE: BA) tumbled 5.26 percent and General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) fell 2.6 percent.
The U.K.’s disability benefits program contractor Maximus (NYSE: MMS) plunged 6.73 percent and CGI Group (NYSE: GIB) declined 6.44 percent as the latter company also has significant exposure in Britain.
Market Summary
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 1 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 29 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 77.327 | -2.232 | -2.805% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 037.30 | -76.02 | -3.60% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 17, 399.86 | -611.21 | -3.39% |
| NASDAQ | 4, 707.98 | -202.06 | -4.12% |
