Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index suffered its worst drop since early September, declining 1.81% from $5,616.01 to $5,515.95. Wall Street’s closing was similar to Monday’s. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.02%) and the broader S&P 500 Index (-0.05%) finished lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (+0.18%) edged higher.
Earnings reports flooded the market. Automotive manufacturer General Motors (NYSE: GM) and tobacco company Philip Morris (NYSE: PM) climbed 9.81% and 10.47% on better-than-expected quarterly results. Auto parts distributor Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC) plunged 20.97% due to a reduced profit forecast. Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) fell 5.03% after reporting lower revenues and profits in Q3 2024.
The GovCon Index tumbled following the decline of 26 constituents. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was the worst performer, while Curtiss-Wright (NYSE: CW) and Carlyle Group (Nasdaq: CG) dropped more than 3%. BAE Systems added 0.84% to lead four gainers that survived the selloff.
Lockheed Martin’s net sales in Q3 2024 grew 1.34% to $17.1 billion compared to Q3 2023. However, net earnings declined 3.76% year-over-year to $1.6 billion. Notably, free cash flow in the first half of 2024 increased 6.09% year-over-year to $4.8 billion. Despite decent quarterly results and a 5% dividend hike announcement, the defense stock fell 6.12%.
RTX (NYSE: RTX) posted a modest 0.29% loss after reporting a 49% year-over-year jump in sales to $20 billion in the third quarter. Net income reached $1.5 billion compared to the $984 million net loss in Q3 2024. The backlog of the aerospace and defense conglomerate at the quarter’s end was a record $221 billion.
Also, on Tuesday, Honeywell (NYSE: HON) and Google Cloud partnership that aims to connect AI agents with assets, people and processes to accelerate safer, autonomous operations for the industrial sector. The first solutions from the collaboration built with Google Cloud AI will be available to Honeywell’s customers in 2025.
The U.S. ten-year Treasury yield climbed for the second straight day, ending at 4.206%, the highest level in three months. Some market analysts expect the Feds to be cautious approach until year-end, with another rate cut in November but no reduction in December.
