GovCon Index, Wall Street Ended the Week Strong on a Broad Market Rally

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index and Wall Street ended the week strong due to a broad market rally. The index, which tracks the stock performances of 30 major government contractors, edged 0.21% higher Friday to $4,871.91, suitable for a 1.94% week-on-week gain.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.02% for a weekly gain of 4.2%. Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) sizzled and led the rally after both Magnificent Seven companies reported impressive quarterly revenue and profit growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.7%) and S&P 500 (+2.7%) also booked weekly gains.

Top defense contractors presented their quarterly results as the earnings season reached its mid-point. GCI constituents Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), and L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) reported solid results, but only L3Harris (+4.42%) and Northrop (+4.42%) registered weekly gains. Still, many expect defense stocks to rise as global threats rise.

Meanwhile, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (Nasdaq: KTOS) rose 9.11% Friday and posted a 4.63% week-on-week gain. Raymond James upgraded its rating from outperform to strong buy. The wealth management firm sees a 50% upside in one year because of strong product demand and continuing global conflict.

Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) was the week’s top performer, with a 10.01% gain in five days. The AI stock climbed 3.73% before the weekend as tech giants Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META), Alphabet, and Microsoft announced plans to spend billions on artificial intelligence.

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