Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index staged a second consecutive session of recovery Wednesday from the post-Brexit shock that loomed over global financial markets during the prior two trading days with McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) as the top driver of gains with the prime defense stocks and platform also top performers.
The GovCon Index closed at a gain of 1.868 percent to 77.931 at a mark that nearly halves its losses from Friday and Monday that resulted from investor reaction over Britain’s Thursday referendum to leave the European Union.
Nine of the GovCon Index’s 11 S&P 500 companies added at least 1 percent and the same number of stocks jumped more than $1.00 per share.
McKesson led GCI net gainers for the second straight day and are up 6.12 percent since Tuesday morning’s twin announcements of its agreement with Change Healthcare to form a new jointly-owned healthcare information technology company and plans to divest the enterprise information solutions segment.
Military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) hit a new 52-week high in the 12 p.m. Eastern time hour after an upgrade on its stock from a “Hold” to a “Buy” rating from Zacks Investment Research on forecasts of “stable financials, return of cash to shareholders, along with a solid budget outlook.”
Prime defense contractors and other platform and technology makers led gains along with Reston, Virginia-based government services contractor Maximus (NYSE: MMS),  which ended Wednesday as the GCI’s eighth-best net performer and is also the U.K.’s lead contractor for a disability benefits application program.
U.S. over-the-counter shares in BAE Systems PLC lifted 3.86 percent and have recovered half of losses incurred from the post-Brexit shock, while the British contractor’s stock on the London exchange gained 4.57 percent and has fully reversed its decline from Thursday’s pre-Brexit close.
Top GovCon Index Net Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change ▴ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCK | McKesson Corp.* | 183.34 | 6.76 | 3.83% |
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Industries | 164.45 | 3.60 | 2.24% |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin | 244.08 | 3.17 | 1.32% |
| BA | Boeing | 126.99 | 3.10 | 2.50% |
| GD | General Dynamics | 135.63 | 2.45 | 1.84% |
Top GovCon Index Percentage Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change ▴ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAV | Navistar International | 11.65 | 0.82 | 7.57% |
| EGL | Engility Holdings | 20.84 | 1.07 | 5.41% |
| I | Intelsat | 2.52 | 0.11 | 4.56% |
| BAESY | BAE Systems PLC | 27.18 | 1.01 | 3.86% |
| MCK | McKesson Corp.* | 183.34 | 6.76 | 3.83% |
*Also listed in the S&P 500 composite index
Market Summary
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 29 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 1 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 77.931 | +1.429 | +1.868% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 070.77 | +34.68 | +1.70% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 17, 694.68 | +284.96 | +1.64% |
| NASDAQ | 4, 779.25 | +87.38 | +1.86% |
