Stock Market Update
17-Mar-26 15:35 ET
Defense names move lower today
Dow +82.47
at 47027.77,
Nasdaq +110.31
at 22484.50,
S&P +21.51
at 6722.88
[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages continue to trade modestly higher shortly before the close.
Defense stocks moved higher on March 2 amid the start of the war in Iran, but the move now reads as a reflexive headline spike rather than the start of a durable rerating.
The move has since turned into sell-the-news, with The Wall Street Journal saying the big five primes are down about 1% on average since the war began despite a 50% run since mid-2024, and today Lockheed Martin (LMT 637.50, -7.70, -1.19%), RTX (RTX 203.22, -2.84, -1.38%), and Northrop Grumman (NOC 723.04, -12.92, -1.76%) were all lower even as the main U.S. indexes edged higher.
