General Electric's 68% gain in H1 leads big-cap industrials
jetcityimage
General Electricâs (NYSE:GE) stock rose 68% during the first half of the year, outperforming shares in other big-cap industrial companies.
Its advance helped to lift the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLI), whose holdings include some of the largest U.S. companies in the sector. The fund rose 9% during the first six months of 2023.
Industrials as a group didnât keep up with the broader market, with the Standard & Poorâs 500 stock index advancing 16% to reach a 52-week closing high (including an 8.3% gain in Q2, the third straight quarter of gains).

Technology stocks such as Apple (AAPL) helped the Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) to rise 32%, the biggest first-half gain since 1983. The Dow Jones Industrial Index (DJI) rose 3.8% during the period.
GE (GE) started the year with the spinoff of GE Healthcare Technologies (GEHC), leaving its energy and aerospace businesses within the storied conglomerate. The strong demand for air travel after the end of the pandemic has led airlines to order new planes, and companies like GE (GE) are working to keep up. The company next year is expected to spin off its energy business that makes turbines and other equipment.
The demand for airplanes also helped Boeing (NYSE:BA), which has worked to overcome manufacturing and safety problems, to rise 11% during the first half.
Outside of commercial aviation, defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Raytheon Technologies (NYSE:RTX) lagged during the first half, as did Honeywell International (NASDAQ:HON). Lingering supply-chain issues have affected companies throughout the aerospace and defense industries.