Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index turned positive in mid-afternoon trade Wednesday along with U.S. stocks after reports surfaced that major oil producing countries reached an agreement to limit global supply with more details due in November.
GovCon Index gainers outnumbered laggers at a 4-to-1 ratio and eight of its 11 S&P 500 companies advanced with L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) as the top net performer for companies listed in both indices.
The GCI has struggled for clear direction in September on interest rate hike speculation and is in narrow range as both the month and third quarter end Friday.
CACI International (NYSE: CACI) led GCI net gainers Wednesday with L-3 second and the remaining top five were Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII), Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) and Navistar International (NYSE: NAV).
Huntington Ingalls advanced in early afternoon trade as the military shipbuilder also owns energy market engineering and project management company UniversalPegasus International, which was acquired in 2014.
Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) and General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) reached a new 52-week high during intraday trade in a second consecutive session for both companies.
Navistar, KBR (NYSE: KBR), AECOM (NYSE: ACM), Textron (NYSE: TXT) and BAE Systems PLC (over-the-counter in the U.S.) ended as the GCI’s top five percentage performers after reports on the oil supply pact surfaced in mid-afternoon trade.
According to Reuters, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies will cut global output for the first time since 2008Â with the framework set at a reduction to 32.5 million barrels per day from the current 33.24 million level as Saudi Arabia softened its stance on major production rival Iran.
Crude futures in New York settled up 5.3 percent to $47.05 a barrel to send the S&P energy sector up almost 4 percent, while the global Brent benchmark in London climbed 5.5 percent to $48.50 a barrel on the news.
Seven sectors including energy rose to help lift the S&P 500 out of negative territory from early afternoon onward.
Market Summary
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 81.995 | +0.404 | +0.495% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 171.37 | +11.44 | +0.53% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 18, 339.24 | +110.94 | +0.61% |
| NASDAQ | 5, 318.55 | +12.84 | +0.24% |
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 26 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 4 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
Top GovCon Index Net Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change ▴ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CACI | CACI International | 102.40 | +1.22 | +1.21% |
| LLL | L-3 Communications * | 153.61 | +1.12 | +0.73% |
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Industries | 154.81 | +0.96 | +0.62% |
| HON | Honeywell International * | 117.16 | +0.95 | +0.82% |
| NAV | Navistar International | 22.30 | +0.93 | +4.35% |
Top GovCon Index Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change ▴ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAV | Navistar International | 22.30 | +0.93 | +4.35% |
| KBR | KBR | 14.87 | +0.49 | +3.41% |
| ACM | AECOM | 29.48 | +0.56 | +1.94% |
| TXT | Textron * | 40.18 | +0.59 | +1.49% |
| BAESY | BAE Systems | 27.59 | +0.39 | +1.43% |
Lowest GovCon Index Net Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change ▾ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAIC | SAIC | 70.07 | -0.16 | -0.23% |
| NOC | Northrop Grumman * | 217.90 | -0.15 | -0.07% |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin * | 245.75 | -0.04 | -0.02% |
Lowest GovCon Index Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change ▾ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAIC | SAIC | 70.07 | -0.16 | -0.23% |
| NOC | Northrop Grumman * | 217.90 | -0.15 | -0.07% |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin * | 245.75 | -0.04 | -0.02% |
