The GovCon Index stumbled Monday and failed to carry over momentum from Friday’s strong July jobs report as declines by major defense primes weighed on the GCI and losses by healthcare shares dragged down U.S. stocks.
GovCon Index laggers outnumbered gainers by a 2-to-1 ratio and four of its 11 S&P 500-listed stocks posted gains with Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) the largest net decliner in the GCI by $2.94.
Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII), L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) and Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) rounded out the GCI’s four biggest net laggers.
Vectrus (NYSE: VEC) hit a new 52-week high in intraday activity and was the GCI’s best net performer two days before the Colorado Springs-based government communications services contractor reports second quarter earnings before Wednesday’s market open.
Other GovCon Index earnings reports due this week include AECOM (NYSE: ACM) on Tuesday for its third fiscal quarter; Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA) before the open Wednesday for its second quarter; and CSRA (NYSE: CSRA) after markets close Wednesday for its first fiscal quarter.
Declines by health stocks offset gains in the energy sector from a rebound in crude oil prices on trader hopes an output freeze could arise out of the next OPEC summit in September.
Crude futures in New York settled up 2.92 percent to $43.02 a barrel and the London Brent benchmark added 2.39 percent to $45.33 a barrel.
Monday trading volume was light as investors have taken a step back from the recent rally in stocks to consider mixed economic data reports such as the July jobs data that surpassed economists’ expectations and U.S. gross domestic product readings only between 1 and 2 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Market Summary
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 82.490 | -0.345 | -0.416% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 180.89 | -1.98 | -0.09% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 18, 529.29 | -14.24 | -0.08% |
| NASDAQ | 5, 213.14 | -7.98 | -0.15% |
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 10 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 20 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
Top GovCon Index Net Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change –´ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEC | Vectrus | 32.66 | 0.60 | 1.87% |
| BA | Boeing * | 132.19 | 0.46 | 0.35% |
| MCK | McKesson Corp. * | 195.10 | 0.44 | 0.23% |
| MMS | Maximus | 59.75 | 0.40 | 0.67% |
| NAV | Navistar International | 12.84 | 0.32 | 2.56% |
Top GovCon Index Percentage Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change –´ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Intelsat | 2.66 | 0.08 | 3.10% |
| NAV | Navistar International | 12.84 | 0.32 | 2.56% |
| VEC | Vectrus | 32.66 | 0.60 | 1.87% |
| CAE | CAE | 13.33 | 0.12 | 0.91% |
| CUB | Cubic Corp. | 44.33 | 0.30 | 0.68 |
* Also listed in the S&P 500 composite index
