Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index sustained the strong gains from Monday, rising 0.43% to $4,949.42. US major indexes finished higher, with the benchmark S&P 500 (+0.25%) climbing to another new all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.15%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.03%) had modest gains.
NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) rose 3.51%, and its market cap hit $3.341 trillion to unseat Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) as the world’s most valuable company. AI domination helped the chipmaker attain its lofty position globally. The 6.4 basis point drop of the ten-year T-note yield to 4.217% boosted the stocks, too.
On the GovCon Index, gainers outnumbered decliners for the second straight day. Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR), Curtiss-Wright (NYSE: CW) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (Nasdaq: KTOS) outperformed to lead 23 advancers. Boeing (NYSE: BA) slid 1.91%, the highest percentage decline among seven underperformers.
Palantir also benefits from the growing demand for artificial intelligence, and AI is the software company’s potential growth catalyst. Its CEO, Alex Karp, believes software is vital and will continue to transform warfare in this century.
On Tuesday, outgoing Boeing CEO David Calhoun appeared before a Senate panel to testify on safety concerns and actions taken to rectify them. He also apologized to the relatives of crash victims who attended the hearing.
The U.S. Navy awarded Boeing a $211.9 million ceiling-priced delivery order, excluding an option provision, under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement for the repair of 11 various configurations of flight control surfaces used on the F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G aircraft.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, a major unit of Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), secured a $63.5 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract with the U.S. Navy. The modification extends services to provide continued infrastructure support to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter laboratory facilities and F-35 developmental flight test activities.
Also, on Tuesday, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins said the U.S. Federal Reserve should remain patient and not overreact to inflation data. “It is too soon to determine whether inflation is durably on a path back to the 2% target,” she said. Dallas’ Federal Reserve Bank President Lorie Logan had the same suggestion, adding that the central bank is in a good position with interest rates to be patient.
Market Summary
| INDEX | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index Daily Average | 4,949.43 | 21.30 | 0.43% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 38,834.86 | 56.76 | 0.15% |
| S&P 500 | 5,487.03 | 13.80 | 0.25% |
| NASDAQ | 17,862.23 | 5.21 | 0.03% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Performers
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLTR | 25.82 | 0.80 | 3.20% |
| CW | 278.6 | 7.72 | 2.85% |
| KTOS | 20.2 | 0.45 | 2.28% |
| AVAV | 219.31 | 4.20 | 1.95% |
| HII | 245.93 | 3.90 | 1.61% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Net Performers
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| CW | 278.6 | 7.72 | 2.85% |
| AVAV | 219.31 | 4.20 | 1.95% |
| GD | 298 | 4.17 | 1.42% |
| HII | 245.93 | 3.90 | 1.61% |
| LHX | 222.45 | 1.76 | 0.80% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Decliners
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| BA | 174.99 | -3.40 | -1.91% |
| GIB | 98.77 | -1.31 | -1.31% |
| MRCY | 27.8 | -0.33 | -1.17% |
| NOC | 425.83 | -3.95 | -0.92% |
| MMS | 86.93 | -0.24 | -0.28% |
