The GovCon Index largely reversed its spike from morning trade Wednesday but held onto nominal gain/loss of 0.152 points to 70.231 in a choppy session for U.S. financial markets.
The Index rose at least 0.75 percent in the first two hours of activity and mirrored gradual declines by U.S. stocks as traders reacted to volatility in crude oil prices and comments to Congress by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
The S&P 500 fell to a decline of 0.1 percent after Yellen said the central bank may reconsider its pace and timing of future interest rate hikes and appeared noncommittal on a firm path forward in testimony to House lawmakers, according to CNBC.
Crude oil futures in New York settled down 1.75 percent to a three-week low of $27.45 a barrel in a reversal from a 3.5-percent spike in early trade after data showed U.S. oil inventories fell in January, CNBC reported.
Top GovCon Index Gainers
| Symbol | Company | $ Current Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CUB | Cubic Corp. | 32.09 | +1.29 | +4.19% |
| HII | Huntington Ingalls Industries | 129.44 | +3.98 | +3.17% |
| I | Intelsat | 3.10 | +0.07 | +2.31% |
| MCK | McKesson* | 152.99 | +2.61 | +1.74% |
| SAIC | SAIC | 41.53 | +0.68 | +1.66% |
*Also listed in the S&P 500 composite index
Market Summary
| Advancing GovCon Index Issues | 16 |
| Declining GovCon Index Issues | 13 |
| Unchanged GovCon Index Issues | 1 |
| Index | Value | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index | 70.231 | +0.152 | +0.217% |
| S&P 500 | 1, 851.86 | -0.35 | -0.02% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 15, 914.74 | -99.64 | -0.62% |
| NASDAQ | 4, 283.59 | +14.93 | +0.35% |
