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April 5 Market Report: Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index Settles Higher, Strong Labor Market Lifts Wall Street

Home Financial Reports April 5 Market Report: Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index Settles Higher, Strong Labor Market Lifts Wall Street
April 5 Market Report: Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index Settles Higher, Strong Labor Market Lifts Wall Street

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index stayed positive, rising 0.46% to $4,896.02 before the weekend. The higher-than-expected jobs report and lower unemployment rate in March lifted Wall Street. While the Nasdaq Composite (+1.24%), S&P 500 (+1.11%), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.80%) closed higher, all three indexes had a losing week.

GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE) popped 6.05% to $156.30 after the former and recently demerged conglomerate General Electric announced a 250% increase in its quarterly dividend. Newmont (NYSE: NEM), the world’s largest gold mining company, rose 5.12% as precious metal prices hovered within record highs.

The GovCon Index saw 22 constituents, led by RTX (NYSE: RTX) and Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR), outperform Friday. Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) dipped 1.08% to lead the eight decliners. Palantir formed a new partnership with computer tech firm Oracle (NYSE: ORCL). Market analysts said the companies plan to expand their AI offerings, and the team-up could boost both stocks in 2024. 

The U.S. Army awarded General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) Land Systems a $518.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Stryker system technical support. L3Harris Global Communications, a subsidiary of L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX), obtained a $155.25 million firm-fixed-price contract for mobile and secure communications services with the Army.

Wall Street rallied on the Department of Labor’s blowout job report. The March non-farm payrolls reached 303,000 versus the estimated 200,000, while the unemployment rate declined to 3.8% from 3.9% in February. Some economists, traders, and investors think the job growth weakens the chances of a rate cut.

On Friday, in a prepared statement at the Manhattan Institute in New York, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said a rate hike is possible if the fight against inflation stalls. Meanwhile, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said at Duke University, “I believe it’s much too soon to think about cutting interest rates.” 

Market Summary

INDEX PRICE NET CHANGE % CHANGE
GovCon Index Daily Average 4,896.02 22.65 0.46%
Dow Jones Industrial Average 38,904.04 307.06 0.80%
S&P 500 5,204.34 57.13 1.11%
NASDAQ 16,248.52 199.44 1.24%

Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Performers

SYMBOL PRICE NET CHANGE % CHANGE
RTX 101.69 2.38 2.40%
PLTR 22.96 0.48 2.14%
FLR 42.41 0.71 1.70%
PSN 84.28 1.27 1.53%
CACI 374.58 5.50 1.49%

Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Net Performers

SYMBOL PRICE NET CHANGE % CHANGE
CACI 374.58 5.50 1.49%
CW 259.13 3.56 1.39%
TTEK 193 2.79 1.47%
ACN 333 2.53 0.77%
RTX 101.69 2.38 2.40%

Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Decliners

SYMBOL PRICE NET CHANGE % CHANGE
NOC 454.5 -4.98 -1.08%
J 147.92 -1.22 -0.82%
VVX 45.84 -0.33 -0.71%
LHX 208.96 -0.63 -0.30%
GIB 106.59 -0.19 -0.18%