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December 13 Market Close: GovCon Index Lower, S&P 500 Higher as Federal Reserve Meeting Gets Underway


Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index closed lower Tuesday in a session that saw the U.S. stock bellwether S&P 500 close at an all-time record high as investors restarted post-election buying activity in sectors they expect to see growth under a Donald Trump administration.

Tuesday’s flat movement by the GCI follows Monday’s 1-percent decline as investors sold off shares in Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and other large-cap defense stocks then after President-elect Donald Trump criticized the F-35 fighter jet program’s cost in a Twitter post.

GovCon Index decliners slightly edged gainers Tuesday as seven of its 11 S&P 500 companies advanced with co-listed pharmaceutical services provider McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) GCI’s the top overall net performer.

Co-listed Lockheed ended second overall for GCI net laggards,  military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) closed as the lowest net performer and Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) finished third-worst among decliners.

McKesson’s advance coincided with the S&P healthcare index’s gain of roughly 0.6 percent as energy stocks led nine out of 11 S&P 500 sectors higher, while materials and real estate lagged.

CGI Group (NYSE: GIB) ended second for GovCon net gainers as General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Leidos Holdings (NYSE: LDOS) and Harris Corp. (NYSE: HRS) rounded out the top five.

Leidos tumbled 3.73 percent Monday in the wake of the F-35 controversy as other government services contractors felt the effect from that selloff in GovCon stocks.

Positive third quarter earnings reports from blue chip stocks and strengthening jobs figures have contributed to the S&P 500’s post-election run as markets are also watching the Federal Reserve‘s two-day monetary policy meeting that started Tuesday.

According to Reuters, futures markets have priced in a 0.25-percent interest rate increase to represent the second hike since the 2008 financial crisis and traders will examine the Fed’s statement to see policymakers’ post-election outlook on economic growth and inflation.

Market Summary

Index Value Net Change % Change
GovCon Index 88.957 -0.176 -0.197%
S&P 500  2, 271.72 +14.76 +0.65%
Dow Jones Industrial Average 19, 911.21 +114.78 +0.58%
NASDAQ 5, 463.83 +51.29 +0.95%
Advancing GovCon Index Issues 13
Declining GovCon Index Issues 16
Unchanged GovCon Index Issues 1

Lowest GovCon Index Net Performers

Symbol Company $ Current Price Net Change ▾ % Change
HII Huntington Ingalls Industries 176.54 -1.66 -0.93%
LMT Lockheed Martin * 251.69 -1.42 -0.56%
RTN Raytheon * 142.41 -1.40 -0.97%
VEC Vectrus 22.74 -1.27 -5.29%
CACI CACI International 127.10 -1.25 -0.97%

Lowest GovCon Index Percentage Performers

Symbol Company $ Current Price Net Change % Change ▾
VEC Vectrus 22.74 -1.27 -5.29%
ICFI ICF 57.30 -1.10 -1.88%
ACM AECOM 38.94 -0.62 -1.57%
EGL Engility Holdings 35.48 -0.52 -1.44%
NAV Navistar International 30.94 -0.38 -1.21%

Top GovCon Index Net Performers

Symbol Company $ Current Price Net Change ▴ % Change
MCK McKesson Corp. * 147.97 +1.48 +1.01%
GIB CGI Group 49.58 +1.23 +2.54%
LDOS Leidos Holdings 51.02 +1.04 +2.08%
HON Honeywell International * 118.09 +0.68 +0.58%
GD General Dynamics * 174.31 +0.57 +0.33%

Top GovCon Index Percentage Performers

Symbol Company $ Current Price Net Change % Change ▴
GIB CGI Group 49.58 +1.23 +2.54%
LDOS Leidos Holdings 51.02 +1.04 +2.08%
BAESY BAE Systems 30.40 +0.52 +1.74%
MCK McKesson Corp. * 147.97 +1.48 +1.01%
BAH Booz Allen Hamilton 36.84 +0.33 +0.90%

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