The GovCon Index rallied Thursday to extend its current stretch of volatility into a fifth straight session as large primes and S&P 500-listed contractors led advancers in conjunction with gains in the larger U.S. stock market on economic data traders view as a factor against a September interest rate hike.
The GovCon Index has added or lost a full percent in four out of five days and swung at least 2 percent in two sessions during a period that has seen the S&P 500 also post gains or declines of at least 1 percent in four out of five days.
GovCon Index gainers overwhelmingly outnumbered laggers in Thursday trade with the top seven advancers also included in the S&P 500 and the dual-listed CSRA (NYSE: CSRA) was one of two GCI companies to close in red along with Intelsat (NYSE: I).
Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) led all GCI net gainers and was followed by other defense primes General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL).
Pharmaceutical services company McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) rounded out the GCI’s top five for net advancers with 5.09 million shares traded at nearly fourfold above the three-month average as the S&P healthcare sector climbed 1 percent.
ICF International (Nasdaq: ICFI) hit a new 52-week high during intraday trade and ended as the GCI’s fourth-best percentage performer.
U.S. stocks rose with information technology and energy as the top sectors after initial jobless claims for the week ended Sept. 10 fell below economists’ expectations and the August producer price index held flat to also miss analyst forecasts.
CME Group’s FedWatch tracker estimates future traders have pegged the odds of a September interest rate increase at 12 percent ahead of the Federal Reserve‘s next policy meeting scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Crude oil futures in New York settled up 0.8 percent to $43.91 a barrel after a two-day stretch that saw the price benchmark fall 6 percent on data that showed increases in U.S. petroleum products that point to a further supply glut.
Market Summary
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 79.717 | +0.688 | +0.871% |
| S&P 500 | 2, 147.26 | +21.49 | +1.01% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 18, 212.48 | +177.71 | +0.99% |
| NASDAQ | 5, 249.69 | +75.92 | +1.47% |
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 28 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 2 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 0 |
Top GovCon Index Net Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change ▴ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOC | Northrop Grumman * | 211.39 | +2.58 | +1.24% |
| GD | General Dynamics * | 152.16 | +2.33 | +1.56% |
| LMT | Lockheed Martin * | 239.09 | +1.68 | +0.71% |
| LLL | L-3 Communications * | 147.59 | +1.66 | +1.14% |
| MCK | McKesson Corp. * | 168.97 | +1.27 | +0.76% |
Top GovCon Index Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change ▴ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDOS | Leidos Holdings | 42.10 | +0.77 | +1.86% |
| GIB | CGI Group | 46.83 | +0.79 | +1.72% |
| GD | General Dynamics * | 152.16 | +2.33 | +1.56% |
| ICFI | ICF International | 43.49 | +0.63 | +1.47% |
| NAV | Navistar International | 19.30 | +0.25 | +1.31% |
 Lowest GovCon Index Net Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change ▾ | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSRA | CSRA * | 25.91 | -0.44 | -1.67% |
| I | Intelsat | 2.83 | -0.02 | -0.70% |
 Lowest GovCon Index Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change ▾ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CSRA | CSRA * | 25.91 | -0.44 | -1.67% |
| I | Intelsat | 2.83 | -0.02 | -0.70% |
