Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index skidded 1.4% for the second straight day, closing lower at $4,912.79. Wall Street’s major market indexes finished in the red, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average giving up 411.32 points (-1.06%). The benchmark S&P 500 (-0.74%) and Nasdaq Composite (-0.58%) erased gains from the previous session.
Fear gripped the market, as evidenced by the 7.7% rise of the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, to 13 on Wednesday. According to Dow Jones Market Data, it was the highest close since May 2. The VIX has also risen 16.6% in the last two trading days. Rate cut uncertainties remain the headwind for stocks.
About 83% (1,598) of NYSE stocks and 71% (2,226) of Nasdaq Composite components declined. However, Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) popped 24.32% to an all-time high of $189.45. In addition to the better-than-expected first-quarter results, the clothing retailer raised its sales outlook across all regions and brands.
Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) climbed 8.43% on news that ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) will acquire the exploration and production company for $17.1 billion in an all-stock deal. American Airlines (Nasdaq: AAL) plunged 13.54% after the airline company unexpectedly revised its financial guidance downward for the second quarter.
The GovCon Index had another worst performance, amplified by 29 decliners out of 30 constituents. Parsons (NYSE: PSN), the lone advancer, ticked 0.43% higher to $77.70. Top decliners Mercury Systems (Nasdaq: MRCY), the Carlyle Group (Nasdaq: CG), and CGI (NYSE: GIB) dropped 3% or more.
Parsons announced that the Sound Transit’s Federal Way Link Extension project, where it was the lead designer, earned an Envision Platinum Award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure. The ISI award is the highest possible Envision award for achievements related to transportation, mobility and access, infrastructure integration, and other areas of sustainability.
The U.S. Air Force awarded Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) a $738,446,386 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Air Force National Capital Region information technology services. Besides the classified and unclassified information technology and telecommunication services in the NCR, Leidos will also provide services to the National Military Command Center’s strategic watch, crisis response, and worldwide monitoring missions.
Also, on Wednesday, the U.S. Army awarded Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) a $480 million contract for the Maven Smart System prototype. The system collects data from various sources to identify military points of interest. Maven can also speed up intelligence analysts’ work.
The first-quarter earnings season was a tailwind for stocks, and the estimated 6% year-over-year growth was the strongest pace since Q2 2022. However, the fear gauge and bond yields rise due to the cloudy interest-rate path. More Fed officials are saying that rates must stay elevated indefinitely.
