Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index fell out of narrow range in afternoon trade Thursday to close down 1 percent and position itself for a second consecutive monthly loss with one day left in September as fears over the health of Deutsche Bank both dragged down banking shares and overshadowed U.S. financial markets.
KBR (NYSE: KBR) added 4 cents to become the GovCon Index company out of 30 to register a gain in Thursday trade and seven of the GCI’s 10 lowest decliners are S&P 500 companies.
S&P 500 stock Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) ended as the GovCon Index’s worst net performer and was joined in the bottom five by other co-listed defense primes Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) and L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL).
Northrop also placed 15th overall in the S&P 500 for steepest net loss, Lockheed in 24th, L-3 in 31st and Raytheon in 33rd.
ManTech International (Nasdaq: MANT) recorded the largest percentage loss of GCI companies after Credit Suisse downgraded the government services contractor’s stock to “Underperform” from “Neutral” and lowered the price target to $37 from $36.
Credit Suisse’s Robert Spingarn told investors in a research note he believes the stock’s gain of roughly 33 percent this year so far has gone beyond the firm’s fair value estimate and said ManTech could see muted organic growth in 2016’s second half by contract award trends that favor small businesses.
Shares in ManTech closed at a volume of 272, 160 shares traded to double the three-month average.
The S&P 500 erased its own monthly gain after Bloomberg reported details on moves by least 10 hedge funds to move part of their listed holdings away from Deutsche Bank to other firms over concerns Europe’s largest investment bank is vulnerable to legal penalties.
Deutsche Bank’s shares on U.S. markets slumped to an all-time low and other banks Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase & Co. both fell at least 1.5 percent, while nine of 11 S&P sectors tumbled with healthcare as the worst performer.
Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf entered his second straight day of congressional testimony to answer questions on the bank’s widely-reported fake account scandal.
Market Summary
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 80.762 | -1.193 | -1.456% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 151.13 | -20.24 | -0.93% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 18, 143.45 | -195.79 | -1.07% |
| NASDAQ | 5, 269.15 | -49.39 | -0.93% |
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 1 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 29 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
Lowest GovCon Index Net Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change –¾ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOC | Northrop Grumman * | 213.61 | -4.29 | -1.97% |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin * | 242.34 | -3.41 | -1.39% |
| LLL | L-3 Communications * | 150.75 | -2.86 | -1.86% |
| MANT | ManTech International | 37.39 | -2.84 | -7.06% |
| RTN | Raytheon * | 136.54 | -2.83 | -2.03% |
Lowest GovCon Index Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change –¾ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MANT | ManTech International | 37.39 | -2.84 | -7.06% |
| RTN | Raytheon * | 136.54 | -2.83 | -2.03% |
| CAE | CAE | 14.21 | -0.29 | -2.00% |
| NOC | Northrop Grumman * | 213.61 | -4.29 | -1.97% |
| EGL | Engility Holdings | 31.51 | -0.63 | -1.96% |
