Why General Electric, TransEnterix, and Petrobras Slumped Today

The stock market lost ground on Tuesday, but the declines were once again modest as major benchmarks clawed their way back from more severe drops earlier in the session. Uncertainty in Washington once again contributed to some of the ups and downs, but a general belief in the continued strength of the U.S. economy seemed to underpin stocks broadly and keep them from losing too much ground. Still, negative news hit some companies a lot harder, and General Electric (NYSE: GE), TransEnterix (NYSEMKT: TRXC), and Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR) were among the worst performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so poorly.

Shares of General Electric fell another 6%, adding to recent losses as the conglomerate continued to face concerns about its future. CEO John Flannery followed up his investor-day presentation on Monday with a television interview Tuesday morning, but his attempts to explain GE's strategic vision going forward and the dramatic move to slash its dividend in half failed to satisfy investors who had already seen their shares lose a third of their value in 2017. Shareholders can expect General Electric to make asset sales in some non-core areas, but so far, the company hasn't perfectly explained what its core focus is going to be. Until it does, there's risk that the oldest component in the Dow Jones Industrials could suffer further declines.

Image source: General Electric.

Source: Fool.com