
Boeing (NYSE: BA) was the index’s largest gainer at 5.8 percent or a second straight day and Northrop Grumman‘s (NYSE: NOC) stock jumped 2.16 percent after the company said profit and revenue increased in its fourth quarter.
ATK (NYSE: ATK) also saw its stock price grow after the company reported higher third-quarter revenue and profit for its aerospace and defense groups in the company’s final earnings release before those groups merge with Orbital Sciences (NYSE: ORB).
Data from the Labor Department that showed a drop in jobless claims last week and gains by blue-chip stocks helped to drive U.S. stocks up, CNBC reported.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.31 percent to 17, 416.85, the S&P 500 composite rose 19.09 points to 2, 021.25 and the NASDAQ composite index gained 0.98 percent to 4, 683.41.
Top Percentage Gainers
 Company |  Stock Price |  $ Change |  % Change |
 Boeing |   147.78 |   8.14 |   5.83% |
  ATK |   132.71 |   5.04 |   3.95% |
  Northrop Grumman |   157.93 |   5.77 |   3.79% |
  Cubic Corp. |   52.97 |   1.50 |   2.91% |
  Navistar |   30.34 |   0.84 |   2.85% |
Market Summary
 Advancing Issues |   18 (60.00%) |
 Declining Issues |   12 (40.00%) |
 Unchanged Issues |   0 |
The Executive Mosaic GovCon Index is a composite index that tracks 30 of the largest publicly-traded Government Contracting (GovCon) firms.