BHGE - Stock Market News: Baker Hughes Gets Its Independence; Peloton Sets Its IPO Range
Wednesday morning saw nice advances for most stock market indexes. Market participants responded favorably to news that the Chinese government might choose to lift its tariffs from certain types of products exported from the U.S. In addition, tepid inflation data seemed to give the Federal Reserve more latitude to cut interest rates as soon as next week. As of 11:30 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was up 89 points to 26,998. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) was up 11 points to 2,990, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) had gained 57 points to 8,141.
Among individual companies, General Electric (NYSE: GE) grabbed the attention of investors by announcing that it would sell a large portion of its stake in oilfield services giant Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHGE). Meanwhile, exercise equipment specialist Peloton came a step closer to going public, announcing its anticipated pricing range on its coming IPO.
Shares of General Electric rose by 1.5% Wednesday morning after the industrial conglomerate revealed its plan to reduce its position in Baker Hughes. After the market closed Tuesday, Baker Hughes announced a secondary offering of 105 million shares owned by various GE entities, with the typical underwriter option to purchase an additional 15.75 million Baker Hughes shares from GE.