The GovCon Index stumbled from the open to close at a loss of 0.279 points to 75.052 as U.S. stock declines mirrored a fall in commodities such as oil and investors continued to speculate over when the next interest rate increases could occur.Los Angeles-based health insurance provider Health Net (NYSE: HNT) led Index gainers at 3.67 percent after the $6.3 billion takeover offer for the company by St. Louis-based Centene (NYSE: CNC) was approved by California’s insurance regulatory agency.
Shares in Centene climbed 3.84 percent and the company subsequently said it expects to “to close the transaction shortly.”
A shortened trade week due to U.S. markets being closed on Good Friday has held down volume and investors reacted to more comments from Federal Reserve officials that the central bank could raise interest rates more than the two times traders had expected, Reuters reported.
Crude oil futures in New York settled down 4 percent to $39.79 a barrel after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said the country’s stockpile increased 9.4 billion barrels last week to nearly triple analyst expectations, according to Reuters.
Top GovCon Index Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HNT | Health Net* | 67.19 | 2.38 | +3.67% |
| BAESY | BAE Systems | 28.50 | 0.22 | +0.80% |
| OA | Orbital ATK | 82.77 | 0.65 | +0.79% |
| EGL | Engility Holdings | 17.53 | 0.11 | +0.63% |
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Industries | 138.39 | 0.80 | +0.32% |
* Also listed in the S&P 500 composite index
Market Summary
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 10 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 20 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 75.052 | -0.279 | -0.370% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 036.71 | -13.09 | -0.64% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 17, 502.59 | -79.98 | -0.45% |
| NASDAQ | 4, 768.86 | -52.80 | -1.10% |
