April 22 Market Close: GovCon Index Holds Positive Against Volatile Markets Ahead of 1Q Defense Earnings Week

The GovCon Index held against choppy trading activity in U.S. markets during the afternoon session Friday to close at a gain of 0.387 points to 76.369 and notch its second consecutive week in the positive.

Friday also marks the Index’s seventh weekly gain over the last eight in a stretch that has seen it climb nearly 3.85 percent ahead of next week when 10 GCI-listed companies report first quarter earnings, including the U.S.’ five largest defense and government contractors.

Next week’s GovCon Index first quarter earnings releases are as follows:

• Tuesday: Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)
• Wednesday: Boeing (NYSE: BA), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD),  Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), CACI International (NYSE: CACI), CGI Group (NYSE: GIB), L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL), Leidos Holdings (NYSE: LDOS) and ManTech International (NASDAQ: MANT)
• Thursday: Raytheon (NYSE: RTN)

Montreal-based technology services company CGI will state results for its fiscal year 2016 second quarter.

GCI stock Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) fell 75 cents — or 0.65 percent — after the industrial conglomerate reported slightly lower margins on acquisition costs in its first quarter financial statement that reported year-over-year increases in both profit and revenue.

Honeywell lifted the lower ends of its full-year guidance for earnings and sales in the statement.

U.S. stocks bounced in and out of positive Friday as the S&P 500 composite index closed at a one-tenth point gain on major losses by technology shares Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Amazon.com and Facebook.

The S&P information technology sector plunged 1.9 percent while energy shares climbed 1.33 percent to end as the leading performer on a year-to-date basis at 11.5 percent, according to CNBC.

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