Industrials Up After GE CEO Change -- Industrials Roundup

Shares of manufacturing and transportation companies rose as a change at the top lifted GE's shares out of their recent funk.

General Electric rose after the disclosure that Jeff Immelt will step down as chief executive on Aug. 1, after 16 years leading the conglomerate, to be replaced by John Flannery. Mr. Flannery, 55 years-old, is a veteran of GE's financial business, the arm that has troubled Immelt for much of his tenure.

Analysts at brokerage Barclays said the appointment of Mr. Flannery could lead to an "AT&T"-style breakup of the conglomerate, which would boost the share price. One money manager said the pessimism about infrastructure and tax legislation may be overdone.

"Several months ago, we believed political optimism was too high, and now the pendulum may have swung too far in the opposite direction," said Bob Doll, chief investment strategist at money manager Nuveen Investments, in a note to clients. "At this point, any hint of progress on tax cuts could be a positive for markets."

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 12, 2017 16:24 ET (20:24 GMT)