Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index rose 1.04% to $4,607.73 following a broad market rally that ended Wall Street’s slump. The Nasdaq Composite (+1.35%) and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.54%) recouped their losses, while the S&P 500 (+0.88%) inched closer to its record-high close registered in January 2022.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) popped 9.79% to lead Nasdaq’s charge along with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA). Boeing (NYSE: BA) was also among the market movers, advancing 4.21% to $211.61.
Boeing was the top performer on the GovCon Index on Thursday. The order for 150 737 Max aircraft by Akasa Air in India lifted the stock. L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) and Parsons (NYSE: PSN) also advanced following new contract awards. BAE Systems, Mercury Systems (Nasdaq: MRCY), and ICF (Nasdaq: ICFI) were the only decliners.
The Space Development Agency awarded L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) a $919M contract to build 18 infrared space vehicles for the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer program. The aerospace and defense technology company will launch four satellites this year for the SDA T0 TL Program and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor satellite.
Parsons Corporation announced securing a $28M ceiling-value Battlespace Command and Control Center integration task order under the Air-Base Air-Defense (ABAD) contract. The contract has a single base year and two option periods and is a new work for the disruptive technology provider.
Meanwhile, investors’ hope of an early rate cut or in March is slowly waning. Raphael Bostic, Atlanta Federal Reserve President and a Federal Open Market Committee voting member, expects policymakers to start cutting rates in the third quarter of 2024, not earlier.
“If we continue to see a further accumulation of downside surprises in the data, it’s possible for me to get comfortable enough to advocate normalization sooner than the third quarter,” Bostic said. “But the evidence would need to be convincing.”
Market Summary
| INDEX | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index Daily Total | 4,607.73 | 47.82 | 1.04% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 37,468.61 | 201.94 | 0.54% |
| S&P 500 | 4,780.94 | 41.73 | 0.88% |
| NASDAQ | 15,055.65 | 200.03 | 1.35% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Performers
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| BA | 211.61 | 8.55 | 4.21% |
| HII | 260.19 | 5.38 | 2.11% |
| VVX | 39 | 0.75 | 1.96% |
| FLR | 37.31 | 0.62 | 1.69% |
| ACN | 359.55 | 5.90 | 1.67% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Net Performers
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| BA | 211.61 | 8.55 | 4.21% |
| ACN | 359.55 | 5.90 | 1.67% |
| HII | 260.19 | 5.38 | 2.11% |
| CW | 223.82 | 3.39 | 1.54% |
| LMT | 459.57 | 3.10 | 0.68% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Decliners
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAESY | 60.76 | -0.75 | -1.22% |
| MRCY | 30.9 | -0.07 | -0.23% |
| ICFI | 130.74 | -0.11 | -0.08% |
| PLTR | 16.4 | 0.01 | 0.06% |
| NOC | 474.63 | 0.75 | 0.16% |
