Stocks in the top U.S. defense contractors jumped Tuesday after President Trump pulled the U.S. out of a nuclear agreement his predecessor negotiated with Iran.
[FULL REMARKS: Trump’s announcement withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal]
Falls Church, Va.-based Northrop Grumman increased 3.7 percent to $328.84, while Raytheon rose 2.4 percent to $210.03, Lockheed Martin climbed 2 percent to $323.97, and General Dynamics added 1.8 percent to $199.93.
The markets in general had a tepid reaction to the news. The NASDAQ and the Dow Jones both closed slightly up, but the S&P 500 slipped.
Along with abandoning the pact, the U.S. will reimpose previous sanctions on Iran and add new measures, a move that might deter investment in the country from European banks. The penalties will be imposed after “certain 90-day and 180-day wind-down periods,” the Treasury Department said.
Prior to the Iran deal, the U.S. fined several international banks for covertly providing funding to the country by removing identifying information during fund transfers.
At the close of New York trading, stocks for the top international lenders were a mixed bag: BNP Paribas and HSBC Holdings both saw declines of less than 1 percent, while Credit Suisse was up less than 1 percent.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is seeking to renegotiate a separate deal with the accord’s remaining participants, which include the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Leaders of those countries said they “remain committed to ensuring the agreement is upheld” and would try to ensure the continued “economic benefits to the Iranian people that are linked to the agreement.”
