Wall Street closes higher after Trump hints budget plan

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK

President Donald Trump's budget plan to raise military spending helped push up defense stocks Monday and led to a higher close on Wall Street

Lockheed Martin and Boeing each saw their shares increase more that 1 percent, and among major U.S. defense contractors, Raytheon stock was up 0.9 percent, while General Dynamics rose 0.4 percent and Northrop Grumman jumped 1.4 percent.

In a nationally televised address Tuesday night, Trump will propose an increase of $54 billion to defense spending. The increase is approximately 9 percent from last year's $600 billion and is part of the president’s 2018 fiscal year budget, the White House said Monday.

The Dow rose 15 points to close at 20,837 — a record high for the 12th trading day in a row and a streak not seen since 1987.

The S&P 500 also ended the day with a new record high after adding two points to 2,369.

The Nasdaq gained 16 points to end at 5,861.