Shares of U. S. defense companies rose after President Trump’s speech on the Afghanistan war.
Shares of U. S. defense companies rose in early trading Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump said the U. S. will stay engaged in the war in Afghanistan.
Northrop Grumman stock rose 1 percent, while Lockheed Martin and Boeing advanced more than 0.7 percent. Boeing and Northrop were also awarded contracts for intercontinental ballistic missile system replacements.
In a primetime address, Trump said that a swift U. S. troops withdrawal from Afghanistan would create a « vacuum » that terrorists would « instantly fill. »
« We cannot repeat the mistake in Afghanistan our leaders made in Iraq, » Trump added.
Trump had promised to reduce overseas intervention during his campaign, but said in his speech he wanted an outcome to the nearly 16-year-long conflict that was « worthy » of the sacrifices made, « especially the sacrifice of lives. »
He also called out Pakistan for being a terrorist hotbed, accusing it of harboring militants. Trump warned Pakistan of the consequences if it didn’t crack down on sweeping fundamentalism.
« The U. S. can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban and others, that pose a threat to the region and beyond. … No partnership can survive a country’s harboring of militants, » Trump said.
Those remarks sent Pakistani stocks plummeting, with the KSE 100 index shedding 2.2 percent on Tuesday.
—CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.
