Defense stocks Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman rose Friday and the Dow climbed back following Thursday's intraday drop of more than 800 points as Russia expanded its invasion of Ukraine.
Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" was underway early Thursday to bring down the government of Ukraine and demilitarize the country.
But the offensive is going slower than the Kremlin expected. A U.S. defense official said Friday morning that Russian forces met "more resistance than they anticipated" on their advance to Kyiv. The official said that Russia had not gained any population centers and had not achieved air superiority over Ukraine.
But the situation was evolving rapidly as Russian troops reportedly closed in on the outskirts of the capital city late Friday.
Russia has launched over 200 missiles during the invasion, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Friday. The missiles were mostly short-range ballistic missiles but also included medium-range cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles and sea-launched missiles.
U.S. officials estimate that as many as 50,000 civilians could eventually be killed or wounded in the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 137 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been killed in the conflict so far.
Thousands of Ukrainians have already fled the country, pouring into Poland and Hungary. The Ukrainian government issued guns to civilians who said they wanted to stay and fight.
Defense Stocks
The invasion sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling early Thursday after the market moved into a correction Wednesday on Russia-Ukraine fears. But the Dow reversed to end up more than 90 points Thursday. The benchmark advanced closed up over 800 points Frida and defense stocks continued their climb higher.
The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF rose 3% to 107.65. Boeing was up 2.1% to 202.55, after falling earlier in the week amid commercial aviation concerns. The Federal Aviation Administration, extended its no-fly range for U.S. carriers to cover all of Ukraine, Belarus and parts of western Russia.
No American troops are in Ukraine, but the U.S. military is actively supporting NATO allies in the region. President Biden said Tuesday that U.S. troop repositionings in Europe were "defensive moves."
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the deployment of 7,000 additional troops to Europe on Thursday, according to a senior defense official.
U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-35s arrived in Estonia, Lithuania and Romania and the aircraft have taken part in "some missions," according to a senior U.S. defense official Friday. The Air Force said earlier that the F-35s will be used to help support NATO's air policing mission in the Baltic and Black Sea regions.
Lockheed shares climbed 3.5% to close at 409.49 on the stock market today, hitting a 52-week high. LMT stock is above a 395.70 buy point in a cup with handle base with a 395.70.
The U.S. is also moving Boeing-made Apache attack helicopters into Poland and the Baltics.
Last week the State Department granted approval for general Dynamics to sell $6 billion worth of M1 Abrams tanks to Poland.
General Dynamics shares jumped 4.3% to close at 227.98, also hitting a 52-week high. GD stock is holding above a 209.18 cup-with-handle buy point and its 50-day line.
Russia's Ukraine Invasion Poses Big Economic Risks
Space Is A Contested Space
The U.S. military has long warned that a war on Earth could extend into space, putting GPS, communications and other crucial services at risk. So far, U.S. officials have said that current U.S. space-based capabilities remain fully functional.
But Biden warned Russia in a speech Thursday that new sanctions from the U.S. and Western allies would "cut off more than half of Russia's high-tech imports."
"We'll strike a blow to their ability to continue to modernize their military. It will degrade their aerospace industry, including their space program."
Russia and the U.S. are highly interdependent on each other in space, and not just at the International Space Station. Northrop's Antares rocket uses a Russian-made engine as well as United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket. United Launch Alliance is a joint venture between Lockheed and Boeing.
Russia worried officials in November when it destroyed a satellite in a test that scattered debris that could have hit the ISS.
Northrop shares rose 3.3% to close at 406.87, holding below recent resistance around 408. NOC stock is forming a flat base with a 408.97 entry point.
The defense contractor is also a major subcontractor on Lockheed's F-35 and produces drones such as the Global Hawk.
More broadly, Russia's Ukraine invasion and other geopolitical risks raise the possibility of more defense spending by the U.S. and its allies in the years to come.
Follow Gillian Rich on Twitter at @GillianRich_ for defense news and more.
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