Wall Street closes higher after Trump hints budget plan

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - 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.