President Donald Trump’s approval of $110 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia gave stocks in defense companies a lift to record highs early Monday. The deal includes $350 billion more in defense support over 10 years.
Lockheed Martin was up about 2 percent, Raytheon was up more than 1.4 percent, Northrop Grumman climbed 1 percent, and General Dynamics was up about half a percent. All four stocks reached all-time highs, according to a report on CNBC.
Jet maker Boeing also signed deals with Saudi Arabia during President Trump's weekend visit, involving the sale of military and passenger aircraft. Its stock was up about 2 percent.
Saudi Arabia was the first country Trump visited as president in attempt to repair relations that were strained under President Barack Obama, who pivoted more toward Iran. The arms deal comes at a time when Saudi Arabia is more worried about Iran’s military involvement in war-torn Syria and Yemen, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The president began a two-day visit to Jerusalem on Monday after making a direct flight from Riyadh on what was believed to be the first open, direct flight to Israel from Saudi Arabia, The New York Times reported. The two countries don't have diplomatic relations.
Major defense deals have a history of boosting the value of defense firms, according to data compiled by Kensho. Looking at the history of 40 U.S.-Saudi Arabia arms deals going back to 2009, the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF was up 3.3 percent a month later on average, almost double the return of the S&P 500, CNBC reported.
"The key, and as yet unknown, issue will be (1) when/if all the various items mentioned are put under contract and (2) when they are to be delivered," Cowen analyst Cai von Rumohr wrote in a note to clients that was obtained by CNBC. "Given the generally extended period required to finalize foreign arms contracts, we'd expect little impact on 2017 results, with some potential benefit in 2018 and more in 2019."
Trump will visit Italy and Belgium next.
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