Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index inched higher Thursday to end its three-day streak of declines on a large gain by Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) and contributions from services-oriented companies as U.S. stocks also climbed after the release of new economic data.
GovCon Index gainers edged decliners 16-14 as six of its 11 S&P 500 components advanced with HII the GCI’s top overall net performer and Textron (NYSE: TXT) the lead advancer among co-listed stocks.
Military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls has helped lead the GCI’s post-election rally with a 19.14 percent gain since the Nov. 8 election as investors are anticipating an increase in the U.S. Navy‘s fleet size under the Donald Trump administration on his campaign pledge.
Government consulting contractor ICF (Nasdaq: ICFI) rebounded to close second-best in net and percentage movement in the GCI a day after the stock was downgraded by analysts at William Blair.
Military services contractor Vectrus (NYSE: VEC) led all percentage gainers and ended third for net performers Thursday with Maximus (NYSE: MMS) also a top five net advancer.
Co-listed Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) weighed as the GCI’s largest net laggard for a second session in the last four to show a 3.44 percent decline in that stretch since Trump’s criticism on Twitter of the F-35 program’s cost
Financial stocks led nine S&P 500 sectors higher with consumer discretionary and real estate both down as investors continued to examine the Federal Reserve‘s forecast of three interest rate hikes in 2017 and again in 2018 that exceeded market expectations.
Traders also gauged the Consumer Price Index reading for November that showed a 0.2-percent increase to meet economists’ expectations, while December’s manufacturing index from IHS Markit reached 54.2 versus the November number of 54.1 to show a seventh consecutive monthly increase in factory output, CNBC reported.
Market Summary
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 88.356 | +0.171 | +0.194% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 262.03 | +8.75 | +0.39% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 19, 852.24 | +59.71 | +0.30% |
| NASDAQ | 5, 456.67 | +20.18 | +0.37% |
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 16 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 14 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
Top GovCon Index Net Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change –´ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Industries | 179.69 | +3.46 | +1.96% |
| ICFI | ICF | 54.95 | +1.45 | +2.71% |
| VEC | Vectrus | 23.52 | +0.91 | +4.02% |
| TXT | Textron | 49.01 | +0.83 | +1.72% |
| MMS | Maximus | 54.76 | +0.77 | +1.43% |
Top GovCon Index Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change –´ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VEC | Vectrus | 23.52 | +0.91 | +4.02% |
| ICFI | ICF | 54.95 | +1.45 | +2.71% |
| NAV | Navistar International | 30.50 | +0.77 | +2.59% |
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Industries | 179.69 | +3.46 | +1.96% |
| TXT | Textron * | 49.01 | +0.83 | +1.72% |
Lowest GovCon Index Net Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change –¾ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LMT | Lockheed Martin * | 250.65 | -1.65 | -0.65% |
| MCK | McKesson Corp. * | 142.34 | -1.03 | -0.72% |
| BA | Boeing * | 153.77 | -0.70 | -0.45% |
| OA | Orbital ATK | 86.00 | -0.40 | -0.46% |
| BAESY | BAE Systems | 29.345 | -0.315 | -1.062% |
Lowest GovCon Index Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change –¾ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAESY | BAE Systems | 29.345 | -0.315 | -1.062% |
| MCK | McKesson Corp. * | 142.34 | -1.03 | -0.72% |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin * | 250.65 | -1.65 | -0.65% |
| CAE | CAE | 14.06 | -0.08 | -0.57% |
| OA | Orbital ATK | 86.00 | -0.40 | -0.46% |
