December 22 Market Report: Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index Advances as Wall Street Nears Record High

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index ended the week with positive returns, rising 0.57% to $4,635.67. The benchmark S&P 500 (+0.17%) registered its longest winning streak since 2017, while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.19%) ticked higher. Only the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished in the red, although it hit a record high during the week.

On the GovCon Index, advancers outnumbered decliners 26 to 4. Accenture (NYSE: ACN), RTX (NYSE: RTX), and CACI (NYSE: CACI) led the advancers, while Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) had the most significant percentage loss among decliners. Also, 15 prominent NYSE stocks hit 52-week highs last week, including GCI constituent Accenture. The tech stock’s year-to-date gain is nearly 35%.

Investors expect a year-end Santa Rally because of favorable economic reports and the possible start of rate cuts in spring or summer of 2024. The latest report from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that the price of goods dropped 0.1% last month, the largest month-over-month drop since April 2020.

While the 3.2% core Personal Consumption Expenditure price index is higher than a year ago, the annual inflation rate is down to 2.6%. Matt Colyar, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, said, “This trend is as graceful and encouraging as anybody could have hoped for when the Fed started lifting rates.” 

Colyar told CNN that Friday’s report was good and solid. He believes it’s becoming increasingly clear that the rate hikes by the Feds have not initiated a recession but coincided with their main goal. The months of slowing inflation, strong labor market conditions, and declining Treasury yields could lift U.S. stocks and buoy investors’ sentiment in the last trading week of 2023.

Market Summary

Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Performers

Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Net Performers

Top 5 GovCon Index Daily Percentage Decliners