Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index rose for the second straight day, finishing 0.83% higher at $4,884.32. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.18%) gained nearly 500 points on encouraging inflation data, while the S&P 500 (+1.09%) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (+1.03%) ended the week on a positive note.
Back-to-back gains
The GovCon Index posted back-to-back daily gains as advancers overwhelmed decliners. AI stock Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq: PLTR) hit a new closing high of $80.55 to lead 24 gainers. ICF (Nasdaq: ICFI) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) topped the losing side.
The US Navy awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, a major unit of Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), a not-to-exceed $11.76 billion undefinitized, fixed-price incentive, firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract for production and delivery of various aircraft.
Also, on Friday, the Air Force Mission Partner Capabilities Office awarded General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), a new $5.6 billion contract. GDIT will modernize, integrate, operate, and sustain the Department of Defense’s Mission Partner Environments or MPEs.
Meanwhile, the Missile Defense System awarded Raytheon, a business unit of RTX (NYSE: RTX), an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with cost, cost-plus-incentive-fee, and cost-plus-award-fee line items with a stated maximum value of $191.1 million to support modeling and simulation efforts for the development and sustainment of radar models, including the Sea-Based X-Band Radar.
Market tailwind
A potential government shutdown caused some anxiety among investors but better-than-expected inflation reading was the tailwind for stocks. The core personal consumption expenditures index, the Feds’ preferred inflation gauge, rose to 2.8% in November but was below the 2.9% consensus estimates. Inflation was manageable as according to the Commerce Department, prices hardly moved.
Market Summary
| Index | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index Daily Average | 4,884.32 | 40.51 | 0.83% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 42,840.26 | 498.02 | 1.18% |
| S&P 500 | 5,930.85 | 63.77 | 1.09% |
| NASDAQ | 19,572.60 | 199.83 | 1.03% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLTR | 80.55 | 6.34 | 8.54% |
| CG | 50.22 | 1.19 | 2.43% |
| BAH | 131.19 | 2.53 | 1.97% |
| LMT | 489.02 | 9.36 | 1.95% |
| MRCY | 39.7 | 0.68 | 1.74% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Net Performers
| Symbol | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMT | 489.02 | 9.36 | 1.95% |
| PLTR | 80.55 | 6.34 | 8.54% |
| GD | 263.64 | 3.36 | 1.29% |
| LHX | 213.55 | 2.91 | 1.38% |
| HII | 190.45 | 2.84 | 1.51% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Decliners
| Symbol | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICFI | 119.52 | -3.21 | -2.62% |
| ACN | 366.37 | -5.79 | -1.56% |
| KBR | 56.99 | -0.37 | -0.65% |
| TTEK | 40.2 | -0.10 | -0.25% |
| BAESY | 58.15 | -0.05 | -0.09% |
