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Defense stocks surge after Bush win

DAVE CARPENTER

Associated Press


CHICAGO - Defense stocks jumped higher Wednesday in what one analyst called a "relief rally" following President Bush's re-election.

Downplaying the impact of the election, the head of Boeing's defense unit said he still sees slower growth ahead for U.S. spending on military contracts after the surge that occurred throughout Bush's first term.

Nonetheless, shares in the nation's three biggest military contractors increased, making defense one of the strongest sectors on a bullish day on Wall Street.

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s stock closed up $1.78 per share, or 3.3 percent, at $55.89 on the New York Stock Exchange. Boeing shares increased $1.27, or 2.5 percent, to $51.15, and Northrop Grumman Corp. surged $2.10, or 4.1 percent, to $53.75. All finished near 52-week highs.

Even after retrenching somewhat late in the trading session, the gains easily exceeded the 1 percent increase in the Dow, reflecting not only investors’ embrace of an unchallenged outcome but confidence that defense companies will get more business from a second-term Bush administration than they would have under John Kerry.

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