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Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Honeywell International (NASDAQ:HON) fell the most among the biggest U.S. industrial companies in a turbulent week for U.S. stocks.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLI), whose holdings include some of the largest U.S. companies in the sector, slipped by 0.2% for the week.
The performance mirrored the performance of other benchmarks, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index (SP500) losing 1%, the Dow Industrials Average (DJI) falling 2.3% and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) sliding by 0.8%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note on Friday rose to 4.377%, the highest since November. Front-month gold futures rose the most since October to end the week at a record high.
U.S. stocks languished for much of the week, and the S&P 500 (SP500) on Thursday had its worst single-day loss since February. A strong jobs report on Friday helped to offset some of the weekly decline as labor-market growth is one sign that the U.S. economy is avoiding a recession. Investors are seeking indicators that Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in June.
Boeing Extends Decline
Boeing (BA) fell 5.1% for the week to extend its year-to-date loss to 30%. The plane maker on Tuesday is likely to report its delivery and order data for March. Analysts at financial-services firm Baird said their channel checks indicated that Boeing (BA) likely delivered 32 planes in March, including 25 of its best-selling 737 Max model.
In the wake of a near-catastrophe on a 737 Max in January, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has prevented Boeing (BA) from boosting output of the plane to more than 38 planes a month until it addresses safety issues. Boeing’s (BA) production is said to have slowed as it avoids what is known as traveled work – or assembling planes out of sequence to speed up production.
The company’s search for a new chief executive and efforts to fix its manufacturing issues have led some sell-side analysts to predict the company will stage a strong comeback amid surging demand for new planes. Boeing (BA) is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on April 24.
GE Aerospace Rises as Aviation Pure-Play
General Electric this week completed its breakup with the split of its aerospace and energy units. GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE), which makes jet engines, rose 12% as a pure-play aerospace and defense company. The aviation business has benefited from a strong rebound in demand for travel as airlines order hundreds of new planes to keep up with growing volumes of passengers. They also seek to reduce fuel expenses by replacing older planes.
Eaton (NYSE:ETN), a maker of power-management tools, gained 5% to extend its year-to-date gain to 37%, as investors continued to pile into stocks that are poised to benefit from the growth of artificial intelligence. The technology requires massive computing power, helping to drive demand for electrical equipment. Financial analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Barclays last week both upgraded Eaton (ETN) on its strong backlog.
