Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index edged 0.12% higher to $5,383.39, sustaining its gain before the weekend. Wall Street’s top stock indexes slipped ahead of the US presidential elections on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-61%) fell the most versus the Nasdaq Composite (-0.33%) and S&P 500 (-0.28%).
NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) will officially become a Dow Jones component when the market opens on Nov. 8. The S&P Dow Jones Indices said the surging AI king replaces erstwhile tech titan Intel (Nasdaq: INTC). Paint maker Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) will also join the blue-chip index in place of chemical company Dow (NYSE: DOW) effective Friday.
Business development
The GovCon Index stayed positive to start a new week. Top three performers Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), ICF (Nasdaq: ICFI), and Science Applications International Corporation (Nasdaq: SAIC) advanced more than one percent, The Carlyle Group (Nasdaq: CG) led 10 decliners with -1.72%, while CACI (NYSE: CACI) was flat.
ICF will have a new person to drive the company’s merger and acquisition growth strategy and manage integration efforts. The global consulting and technology services provider announced Dr. Eric Hakimov’s appointment as corporate development vice president.
Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) fell 1.22% at the closing bell but surged 13.72% to $47.09 in after-hours trading. The data analytics firm and defense/intelligence contractor presented record revenue and profit in the third quarter. In the three months ending Sept. 30, 2024, revenue and net income climbed 30% and 20% to $725.5 million and $143.5 million compared to Q3 2023.
The key business accelerant this year is Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform. Alexander C. Karp, its co-founder and CEO, credits the unrelenting AI demand for the stellar financial results. The AI stock, GCI’s top-performing stock thus far in 2024, is up 141.18% year-to-date.
All-important week
Major equity markets took a breather as Americans prepared to vote for the 47th US president on Tuesday. The membership to the 119th US Congress, comprising 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 100 in the Senate, is also at stake. Besides the election day, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will announce the central bank’s rate decision on Thursday after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
Market Summary
| Index | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index Daily Average | 5,383.39 | 6.34 | 0.12% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 41,794.60 | -257.59 | -0.61% |
| NASDAQ | 18,179.98 | -59.94 | -0.33% |
