The defense primes re-rated on the third-quarter backlog reports: LMT closed 643.59 on October 29 2026 against 522.23 on October 14 (+23.2%), including a 7.0% gain on its October 22 report day (551.51 to 589.91) and further gains to 635.20 by October 26; NOC closed 562.36 against 495.69 (+13.4%) and RTX 199.40 against 186.47 (+6.9%). The group rose through a window with no US strikes and an active diplomatic track, so the move is being paid for contracted multi-year procurement rather than for escalation.