Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index closed 0.41% higher to $4,963.08 to end the shortened week and March in the positive zone. The index, which tracks the stock performances of 30 major government contractors, also outperformed Wall Street’s major stock indexes for the week with a 1.69% gain.
Despite Thursday’s subdued session, the S&P 500 rose 0.11% to close at another record. Besides the 22 new highs in the first three months of 2024, the benchmark index marked its best first quarter since 2019. The Nasdaq Composite (-0.12%) finished in the red but gained 9.1% during the quarter.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.12% higher and is 192.63 points away from the key threshold of 40,000. It was also its strongest first quarter since 2021. However, the GovCon Index gained 6.31% for the quarter compared to the blue-chip index’s 5.6%.
The GovCon Index maintained stability, as evidenced by 25 gainers in the last two trading sessions. Mercury Systems (Nasdaq: MRCY) and AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV) showed the way, although V2X (NYSE: VVX) gained the most in four days with +6.8%.
Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) was the worst performer for the week, dropping 4.8%. The AI stock fell 6.12% Thursday following a downgrade by an analyst at Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. On a year-to-date basis, Palantir is up 34.01%.
On Friday, the Commerce Department released the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index. The PCE, a gauge of price pressures, rose to 2.5% in February from 2.4% in the previous month. Still, Fed chairman Jerome Powell said the US central bank remains on track to hit its long-term inflation target of two percent.
