Shares of Lockheed Martin rose 4.6% after dropping 4.8% the day earlier, Northrop Grumman rose 3.5% after falling 5.5% and General Dynamics added 2.4% after losing 4.2% Wednesday. RTX, the parent of Raytheon, a contractor Trump singled out in his social media posts, rose 0.7% after falling 2.5%.

In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said he just met with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, and applauded the company for launching a processor in the U.S.

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that defense companies need to invest more in plants and equipment and stop giving dividends to shareholders.

A 75-year correlation with a perfect track record suggests Wall Street's benchmark index will soar more than 20% in the new year.

WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump criticized defense contractor Raytheon (RTX.N) on Wednesday for what he called the company's slow response to the demands of the U.S. military and threatened to cut its government contracts if the firm did not restrict stock buybacks.

Evidence suggests President Trump's tariffs will ultimately slow economic growth, a particularly concerning prospect because the S&P 500 currently trades at a valuation last seen during the dot-com crash.

Defense stocks spiked a day after Trump sent the sector tumbling with his comments that he wouldn't allow buybacks and dividends from defense firms.