Defense Companies Rise After Trump Speech On Afghanistan

Shares of companies in the defense industry rose on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump said he intended to step up the fight against extremists and Taliban forces in Afghanistan, something that could lead to increased military spending. The SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF , an exchange-traded fund that tracks the sector, rose 1%, while the PowerShares Aerospace & Defense Portfolio was up 0.6%. The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF rose 0.8%. Among specific companies, Lockheed Martin Corp. rose 0.7% on the day while L3 Technologies Inc. was up 1.2% and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. climbed 2.2% as one of the biggest percentage gainers in the sector.