Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index held negative in a light trading session for U.S. stocks Tuesday as defense primes led GCI losses ahead of the July jobs report scheduled for release before markets open Friday.
Tuesday’s decline represents the GovCon Index’s fifth decline over six days in a stretch driven by extended losses in prime stocks such as Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) that has put the GCI on pace to end its streak of six straight months with positive movement.
GovCon Index decliners outnumbered laggers by a roughly 2-to-1 ratio and three of the GCI’s 11 S&P 500-listed stocks registered gains: Harris Corp. (NYSE: HRS), CSRA (NYSE: CSRA) and Textron (NYSE: TXT).
Vectrus (NYSE: VEC) led all GovCon Index advancers and hit a 52-week high in afternoon trade as the Colorado Springs-based government services contractor traded a volume of 334, 085 shares to exceed the the three-month average fourfold.
Lockheed Martin ended as the GCI’s lowest net performer to post its ninth decline in 11 sessions and is down 10.15 percent over that time since Aug. 16 after the defense contractor’s share repurchases related to the spinoff and merger of its services business into Leidos Holdings (NYSE: LDOS) fell short of guidance to investors.
Other defense primes and S&P 500 stocks among the GovCon Index’s largest net laggers included Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII), Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Raytheon (NYSE: RTN).
The S&P 500 fell into negative for the month with Apple a significant drag after the widely-reported European Union decision on the iPhone maker’s low tax payments in Ireland and utilities also led nine sectors lower for the U.S. bellwether stock index.
According to Bloomberg, the S&P 500’s trading volume was 11 percent lower than the 30-day average.
Financial shares were the only gainers in the S&P 500 and have added 3 percent in August on speculation over the timing of the next interest rate hike.
Market Summary
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 81.217 | -0.387 | -0.474% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 176.12 | -4.26 | -0.20% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 18, 454.30 | -48.69 | -0.26% |
| NASDAQ | 5, 222.99 | -9.34 | -0.18% |
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 20 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 10 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
Lowest GovCon Index Net Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change –¾ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LMT | Lockheed Martin * | 239.45 | -3.20 | -1.32% |
| BA | Boeing * | 130.81 | -2.09 | -1.57% |
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Industries | 165.42 | -1.57 | -0.94% |
| RTN | Raytheon * | 140.35 | -1.05 | -0.74% |
| MANT | ManTech International | 40.305 | -0.685 | -1.671% |
Lowest GovCon Index Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change –¾ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Intelsat | 2.81 | -0.31 | -9.94% |
| MANT | ManTech International | 40.305 | -0.685 | -1.671% |
| BA | Boeing * | 130.81 | -2.09 | -1.57% |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin * | 239.45 | -3.20 | -1.32% |
| CAE | CAE | 14.00 | -0.14 | -0.99% |
Top GovCon Index Net Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change –´ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEC | Vectrus | 34.56 | +1.67 | +5.08% |
| MMS | Maximus, Inc. | 59.10 | +0.67 | +1.15% |
| NAV | Navistar International | 14.76 | +0.13 | +0.89% |
| HRS | Harris Corp. * | 92.73 | +0.11 | +0.12% |
| CUB | Cubic Corp. | 47.45 | +0.09 | +0.19% |
Top GovCon Index Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change –´ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEC | Vectrus | 34.56 | +1.67 | +5.08% |
| MMS | Maximus | 59.10 | +0.67 | +1.15% |
| NAV | Navistar International | 14.76 | +0.13 | +0.89% |
| CSRA | CSRA * | 25.54 | +0.09 | +0.35% |
| BAH | Booz Allen Hamilton | 30.58 | +0.09 | +0.30% |
* Also listed in the S&P 500 composite index
