The GovCon Index reached the 70-point barrier for the first time in eight trading days with an increase of 2.446 percent — or 1.761 points — to close at 70.214 on Thursday.
Only one company in the index recorded a loss and the remaining 29 all saw increases in a day that saw the S&P 500 composite index make its biggest one-day climb since November 2011 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new three-year high for a single-day increase.
The Dow increased 2.4 percent — or 421.28 points — to 17, 778.15, the S&P 500 jumped 2.4 percent to 2, 061.23 and the NASDAQ composite index
Investors reacted to the Federal Reserve’s disclosure that it would be patient on a rate increase and data that showed a rise in payrolls during November, according to Bloomberg.
Top Percentage Gainers
| Â Company | Â Stock Price | Â $ Change | Â % Change |
| Â Navistar | Â 32.21 | Â 1.87 | Â 6.16% |
| Â Healthnet | Â 54.34 | Â 2.56 | Â 4.94% |
| Â Orbital | Â 24.98 | Â 1.03 | Â 4.30% |
| Â Serco Inc. | Â 2.56 | Â 0.0935 | Â 3.79% |
| Â Lockheed Martin | Â 191.64 | Â 6.49 | Â 3.51% |
The Executive Mosaic GovCon Index is a composite index that tracks 30 of the largest publicly-traded Government Contracting (GovCon) firms.
