Boeing Stock Puts Dow Back in the Black

EVERETT, WA - SEPTEMBER 17:Flanked by a pair of chase planes a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner lifts off for its first flight September 17, 2013 at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The 787-9 is tw

(Image credit: 2013 Getty Images)

published 31 January 2018

The Dow rebounded from back-to-back down sessions, climbing 0.3% on Wednesday, Jan. 31, to end trading at 26,149. Credit much of the gain to the strong performance of Boeing (BA), which jumped 5% to $354.41 a share. As the highest-priced component of the industrial average by far, the aerospace giant holds the biggest sway in the price-weighted Dow.

What Happened in the Stock Market Today?

The stock market survived a midafternoon swoon when the Fed, as expected, concluded its two-day meeting without raising short-term interest rates. However, inflation is a growing concern and at least three rate hikes are on the horizon in 2018 as Jerome Powell prepares to take over from outgoing Fed chief Janet Yellen. Investors increasingly have been fretting over the potential impact of rising rates on stocks.

Getting back to Boeing: The company is one of several big names on the earnings calendar this week, and its fourth-quarter numbers didn't disappoint. Sales and profits beat expectations, and management issued an upbeat financial outlook for 2018. But Boeing's value lies not only in its impressive share-price appreciation, but also in its ability to generate income for investors. The combination of growth and income makes it one of the best stocks in the Dow today.

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Dan Burrows is Kiplinger's senior investing writer, having joined the august publication full time in 2016.

A long-time financial journalist, Dan is a veteran of SmartMoney, MarketWatch, CBS MoneyWatch, InvestorPlace and DailyFinance. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Consumer Reports, Senior Executive and Boston magazine, and his stories have appeared in the New York Daily News, the San Jose Mercury News and Investor's Business Daily, among other publications. As a senior writer at AOL's DailyFinance, Dan reported market news from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and hosted a weekly video segment on equities.

Once upon a time – before his days as a financial reporter and assistant financial editor at legendary fashion trade paper Women's Wear Daily – Dan worked for Spy magazine, scribbled away at Time Inc. and contributed to Maxim magazine back when lad mags were a thing. He's also written for Esquire magazine's Dubious Achievements Awards.

In his current role at Kiplinger, Dan writes about equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities, funds, macroeconomics, demographics, real estate, cost of living indexes and more.

Dan holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a master's degree from Columbia University.

Disclosure: Dan does not trade stocks or other securities. Rather, he dollar-cost averages into cheap funds and index funds and holds them forever in tax-advantaged accounts.