The GovCon Index gradually tumbled from a strong open Friday and fell sharply in late afternoon trade to end at a nominal gain of 0.197 points to 74.227, which puts the GCI at a weekly loss for the second time in three weeks.
The GCI posted a nominal 0.103-point loss from the April 1 close that includes Thursday’s sharp decline of nearly 1 percent as U.S. investors struggled to get clear direction on economic growth prospects as first quarter earnings season approaches.
Thomson Reuters data projects first quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies — which includes 11 GCI stocks — to decline 7.6 percent from the same period last year.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) will kick off earnings reporting season for the U.S.’ five largest government contractors April 26, followed by Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) April 27 and Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) April 28.
General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) has not announced the date of its first quarter earnings release but the “Big Five” contractors traditionally report their January-March financial results in the same week.
Losses among biotechnology stocks offset gains by energy shares on a 6.6-percent jump in U.S. crude oil futures to $39.72 a barrel after government data showed the country’s stockpiles fell 5 million barrels last week.
Top GovCon Index Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAESY | BAE Systems | 28.16 | +0.61 | +2.21% |
| CAE | CAE | 11.29 | +0.19 | +1.71% |
| NAV | Navistar International | 11.63 | +0.16 | +1.39% |
| VEC | Vectrus | 22.15 | +0.26 | +1.19% |
| GD | General Dynamics * | 132.91 | +1.52 | +1.16% |
* Also listed in the S&P 500 composite index
Market Summary
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 21 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 9 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 74.227 | +0.197 | +0.266% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 047.60 | +5.69 | +0.28% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 17, 576.96 | +35.00 | +0.20% |
| NASDAQ | 4, 850.69 | +2.32 | +0.05% |
