Eaton (NYSE:ETN) led weekly stock gains among the biggest U.S. industrial companies during a week when major indexes hit new records.
The Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLI), whose holdings include some of the largest U.S. companies in the sector, rose 2.5% for the week.
The performance mirrored the performance of other benchmarks, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index (SP500) rising 2.3% for the week. The Dow Industrials Average (DJI) advanced 2% and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) gained 2.9%.
Investors again looked for signs that the Federal Reserve will reduce borrowing costs after its efforts to battle a multidecade high inflation. Markets rose to records on Wednesday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated three cuts to interest rates are still possible this year.
Eaton’s (ETN) 5.9% gain for the week to a record close extended its 12-month climb to about 91%. The maker of electrical equipment has boosted its sales and profit amid strong demand in the aerospace industry and the record number of large-scale infrastructure projects in the United States. Eaton (ETN), which is domiciled in Dublin, Ireland, also is restructuring operations and investing in modernized factories worldwide.
Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) weighting, March 22 Symbol Company Name Index Weight (GE) General Electric Co 4.94% (CAT) Caterpillar Inc 4.73% (UBER) Uber Technologies Inc. 4.28% (UNP) Union Pacific Corp 3.87% (HON) Honeywell Intl Inc 3.43% (RTX) RTX Corporation 3.29% (ETN) Eaton Corp plc 3.28% (UPS) United Parcel Service Inc B 2.93% (BA) Boeing Co 2.81% (DE) Deere & Co 2.69% (ADP) Automatic Data Processing 2.64% (LMT) Lockheed Martin 2.49% (WM) Waste Management Inc 2.01%
