Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index closed higher at $5,505.35 (+1.44%) after recovering from a steep 1.05% decline on Thursday. The index, which tracks the stock performance of 30 major government contractors, posted a 0.65% week-on-week gain, maintaining its winning run.
Wall Street’s major stock indexes also finished strong before the weekend and for the week as the Q3 2024 earnings season kicks off. For the year, the Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 22.2%, 21.9%, and 13.7%, respectively. On the other hand, the GovCon Index is up 17.93% year-to-date.
V2X (NYSE: VVX) popped 7.67% Friday and was the week’s top GCI gainer with +9.31%. Second placer Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) gained 8.75% in five days and was the best performer from Tuesday to Thursday.
Defense stocks gained increased attention and rallied to start the month as the Middle East conflict escalated. The top defense contractors will parade their latest quarterly results on Oct. 22, starting with Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and RTX (NYSE: RTX).
Plane maker Boeing (NYSE: BA) will present its Q3 2024 earnings on October 23. According to Anderson Economic Group, the ongoing union strike has cost the aircraft maker around $5 billion already. Also, on Friday, Boeing announced it will lay off 17,000 employees or 10% of its workforce over the next several months.
Regarding rate cuts, market analysts believe the pace until year-end would be gradual. They predict 25 basis point cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve in November and December.
