Defense stocks were higher Wednesday, as tensions between North Korea and the U.S. rose after the former launched its first ballistic missile capable of reaching the continental U.S. The U.S. and South Korean militaries conducted a joint exercise on Wednesday morning, firing tactical surface-to-surface missiles into the waters off South Korea to counter what it called “North Korea’s destabilizing and unlawful actions”, The Wall Street Journal reported. Meanwhile, the Eighth U.S. Army, which commands U.S. Army forces in South Korea, said the U.S. commitment to defending South Korea is “ironclad.” Against that background, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. rose 1.4%, Boeing Co. was up 1.3%, Northrop Grumman Corp. gained 1% and General Dynamics was up 0.5%. The S&P 500 was flat.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News