June 29 Market Close: GovCon Index Extends Post-Brexit Shock Reversal as Primes Lead Surge

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index staged a second consecutive session of recovery Wednesday from the post-Brexit shock that loomed over global financial markets during the prior two trading days with McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) as the top driver of gains with the prime defense stocks and platform also top performers.

The GovCon Index closed at a gain of 1.868 percent to 77.931 at a mark that nearly halves its losses from Friday and Monday that resulted from investor reaction over Britain’s Thursday referendum to leave the European Union.

Nine of the GovCon Index’s 11 S&P 500 companies added at least 1 percent and the same number of stocks jumped more than $1.00 per share.

McKesson led GCI net gainers for the second straight day and are up 6.12 percent since Tuesday morning’s twin announcements of its agreement with Change Healthcare to form a new jointly-owned healthcare information technology company and plans to divest the enterprise information solutions segment.

Military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) hit a new 52-week high in the 12 p.m. Eastern time hour after an upgrade on its stock from a “Hold” to a “Buy” rating from Zacks Investment Research on forecasts of “stable financials, return of cash to shareholders, along with a solid budget outlook.”

Prime defense contractors and other platform and technology makers led gains along with Reston, Virginia-based government services contractor Maximus (NYSE: MMS), which ended Wednesday as the GCI’s eighth-best net performer and is also the U.K.’s lead contractor for a disability benefits application program.

U.S. over-the-counter shares in BAE Systems PLC lifted 3.86 percent and have recovered half of losses incurred from the post-Brexit shock, while the British contractor’s stock on the London exchange gained 4.57 percent and has fully reversed its decline from Thursday’s pre-Brexit close.

Top GovCon Index Net Gainers

Symbol	Company	$ Current Price	Net Change –´	% Change
MCK	McKesson Corp.*	183.34	6.76	3.83%
HII	Huntington Ingalls Industries	164.45	3.60	2.24%
LMT	Lockheed Martin	244.08	3.17	1.32%
BA	Boeing	126.99	3.10	2.50%
GD	General Dynamics	135.63	2.45	1.84%

Top GovCon Index Percentage Gainers

Symbol	Company	$ Current Price	Net Change	% Change –´
NAV	Navistar International	11.65	0.82	7.57%
EGL	Engility Holdings	20.84	1.07	5.41%
I	Intelsat	2.52	0.11	4.56%
BAESY	BAE Systems PLC	27.18	1.01	3.86%
MCK	McKesson Corp.*	183.34	6.76	3.83%