Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index advanced for the second straight day, rising modestly to $4,986.25 (+0.27%). On Wall Street, the interest rate cut across the border lifted the S&P 500 (+1.18%) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.96%) to new record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.25%) rose nearly 100 points.
NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA) outperformed stock on the tech-heavy index. The chip stock increased 5.16%, while the market cap topped $3 trillion in intraday trading. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) popped 10.68% to a record high of $19.48 due to strong sales of servers for artificial intelligence and better-than-expected revenues. As tech stocks rallied, the ten-year T-note yield fell 3.9 basis points to 4.287%.
The Bank of Canada made headlines after announcing a 0.25% rate cut. “We’ve come a long way in the fight against inflation,” said BOC governor Tiff Macklem. The first rate cut by a G7 central bank could influence other policymakers to initiate similar cuts ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
On the GovCon Index, more stocks gained strength from the previous trading session. Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) and Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) popped almost 4% to lead 24 advancers. Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) and L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) were the top decliners.
Palantir Technologies announced that about 70 customers, including new ones such as United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL), Lear (NYSE: LEA), and Edgescale AI, will showcase how they use Palantir’s software through its Artificial Intelligence Platform Thursday.
V2X (NYSE: VVX) rose 2.37% on news that its VPS subsidiary business specializing in corporate learning and development made it to the 2024 Training Industry Top 20 list for Custom Content Development. Boeing (NYSE: BA) rose 0.65% to extend its winning streak to five days.
Also, on Wednesday, NASA and Boeing launched the Starliner spacecraft from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board. The mission at the International Space Station will take ten days.
ADP private payrolls showed 152,000 job additions in May compared to the estimated 175,000 jobs. Market analysts note that the softening labor demand could further ease wage gains and services. However, due to slower inflation and economic growth, interest rates in the U.S. could remain elevated longer.
Market Summary
| INDEX | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index Daily Average | 4,986.24 | 13.62 | 0.27% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 38,807.33 | 96.04 | 0.25% |
| S&P 500 | 5,354.03 | 62.69 | 1.18% |
| NASDAQ | 17,187.90 | 330.85 | 1.96% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Performers
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLR | 44.56 | 1.69 | 3.94% |
| PLTR | 22.96 | 0.86 | 3.89% |
| VVX | 48 | 1.11 | 2.37% |
| CG | 42.86 | 0.68 | 1.61% |
| GIB | 100.82 | 1.47 | 1.48% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Net Performers
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACN | 291.02 | 2.96 | 1.03% |
| GD | 299.45 | 2.13 | 0.72% |
| HON | 209.27 | 2.04 | 0.98% |
| CACI | 423.95 | 1.72 | 0.41% |
| AVAV | 204.41 | 1.70 | 0.84% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Decliners
| SYMBOL | PRICE | NET CHANGE | % CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOC | 442.37 | -6.02 | -1.34% |
| LHX | 224.15 | -2.54 | -1.12% |
| LMT | 465.23 | -3.66 | -0.78% |
| TXT | 86.54 | -0.47 | -0.54% |
| J | 138.3 | -0.32 | -0.23% |
