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December 18 Market Report: Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index Returns to Positive Territory

Home Financial Reports December 18 Market Report: Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index Returns to Positive Territory
December 18 Market Report: Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index Returns to Positive Territory

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index is back in positive territory after rising 0.27% and lifting the total to $4,603.34. The Nasdaq Composite (+0.62%) extended its winning streak to eight days, while the S&P 500 (+0.45%) inched closer to its all-time closing high posted in January 2022. Only the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.00%) stayed flat to start the week.  

Besides retailer ETSY (Nasdaq: ETSY), market movers on Monday include mega-cap tech stocks Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META), and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN). The ten-year Treasury yield rose but stayed below 4%.

On the GovCon Index side, advancers outnumbered losers, 19 versus 11. Top performer V2X (NYSE: VVX) rose 2.29%, while four other constituents gained more than 1%. Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR), Mercury Systems (Nasdaq: MRCY), and Boeing (NYSE: BA) led the decliners.

The last batch of important U.S. economic reports for the year will come out this week. Investors await housing market data, consumer confidence and the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index. 

Market analysts forecast interest rate cuts to begin in March 2024 after policymakers ended their hike campaign last week. However, some Fed officials say people are getting ahead of the central bank. Loretta Mester, president of the Cleveland Fed, doesn’t expect an abrupt pivot to lowering borrowing costs. 

Mester said the next phase is not when to reduce rates. Instead, it’s about how long the monetary policy must remain restrictive. Policymakers want to be sure that the downward trend of inflation is sustainable and that it is the timely path back to the 2% target.   

Market Summary

INDEX PRICE NET CHANGE % CHANGE
GovCon Index Daily Total 4,608.34 12.53 0.27%
Dow Jones Industrial Average 37,306.02 0.86 0.00%
S&P 500 4,740.56 21.37 0.45%
NASDAQ 14,905.19 91.27 0.62%

Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Performers

SYMBOL PRICE NET CHANGE % CHANGE
VVX 45.51 1.02 2.29%
MMS 82.85 1.38 1.69%
GIB 108.28 1.45 1.36%
KBR 53.97 0.67 1.26%
LMT 446.91 5.10 1.15%

Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Net Performers

SYMBOL PRICE NET CHANGE % CHANGE
LMT 446.91 5.10 1.15%
NOC 465.42 4.37 0.95%
HON 205.1 1.70 0.84%
CACI 319.7 1.60 0.50%
HII 255.02 1.47 0.58%

Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Decliners

SYMBOL PRICE NET CHANGE % CHANGE
PLTR 17.84 -0.36 -1.98%
MRCY 36.73 -0.73 -1.95%
BA 260.41 -3.86 -1.46%
SAIC 124.53 -0.92 -0.73%
TTEK 164.35 -1.18 -0.71%