Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index ended its mild bull run of ten days, closing 0.25% lower at $5,347.60. Wall Street’s major indexes also snapped their winning streaks. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.33%, while the Dow Jones Industrial (-0.15%) and S&P 500 (-0.15%) finished in the red on modest losses.
Palo Alto Networks (Nasdaq: PANW) rose 7.18% to lead tech advancers after the cybersecurity company reported strong results in Q4 fiscal 2024. Streaming giant Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) hit an all-time high of $698.54 (+1.45%) due to a 150% year-over-year increase in advertising sales.
On Aug. 20, enterprise AI application software company C3.ai (NYSE: AI) announced that the annual AI Defense Forum will be on Sept. 10 in Tysons, Virginia. Military and civilian leaders, technologists, and policymakers will convene to see how enterprise AI can modernize defense applications and help strengthen national security.
HII (NYSE: HII) led eight gainers on the GovCon Index, while Leidos Holdings (NYSE: LDOS) was flat. Boeing (NYSE: BA) declined the most among 21 losers. A new manufacturing issue caused Boeing shares to drop 4.2%. The plane maker grounded four 777X jetliners due to cracks found in their structure in initial test flights. Federal safety officials also ordered an inspection of the pilot seats of 787 Dreamliners following a recent incident.
The U.S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin Rotary and Missions Systems, one of Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) four business areas, a $113.6 million firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract for option exercise of full-rate production Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program and six systems. This contract is under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
The ten-year Treasury yield hardly moved at 3.975%, although lower or declining yields are tailwinds for stocks. On Tuesday, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said, “Should the incoming data continue to show that inflation is moving sustainably toward our 2% goal, it will become appropriate to gradually lower the federal funds rate to prevent monetary policy from becoming overly restrictive.”
The U.S. Federal Reserve will release the July 30-31 Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes on Wednesday. The central bank’s annual symposium will follow it in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Thursday, including a speech by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.
Market Summary
| Index | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| GovCon Index Daily Average | 5,347.60 | -13.49 | -0.25% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 40,834.97 | -61.56 | -0.15% |
| S&P 500 | 5,597.12 | -11.13 | -0.20% |
| NASDAQ | 17,816.94 | -59.83 | -0.33% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Performers
| Symbol | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| HII | 275.23 | 4.33 | 1.60% |
| BAH | 150.65 | 1.94 | 1.30% |
| MMS | 89.69 | 0.56 | 0.63% |
| NOC | 508.04 | 3.17 | 0.63% |
| HON | 200.07 | 1.03 | 0.52% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Net Performers
| Symbol | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| HII | 275.23 | 4.33 | 1.60% |
| NOC | 508.04 | 3.17 | 0.63% |
| BAH | 150.65 | 1.94 | 1.30% |
| HON | 200.07 | 1.03 | 0.52% |
| ACN | 330.37 | 0.93 | 0.28% |
Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Decliners
| Symbol | Price | Net Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| BA | 172.1 | -7.54 | -4.20% |
| MRCY | 38.71 | -1.28 | -3.20% |
| KTOS | 20.79 | -0.59 | -2.76% |
| CG | 40.45 | -1.05 | -2.53% |
| VVX | 46.83 | -0.97 | -2.03% |
