Union Pacific leads weekly gains among big-cap industrials (NYSEARCA:XLI)

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) this week rose 4.2% for the biggest gain among large-cap industrial stocks. The freight railroad, a bellwether of manufacturing activity, closed at a record high. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLI), whose holdings include some of the largest U.S. companies in the sector, rose 1.9% for the week and closed at a record high.

The performance mirrored gains for U.S. stocks, with Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index (SP500) and the Dow Industrials Average (DJI) closing at record highs on Thursday and Friday. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) closed at a record high on Thursday, but slipped on Friday to end the week with a 1.4% gain.

All eyes were on chip maker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), whose blowout earnings report on Wednesday evening triggered a 17% gain the next two days that helped to lift the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices.

Among industrial stocks, Union Pacific (UNP) gained as a report showed that U.S. weekly rail traffic rose 3.7% from a year earlier. At an investor conference this week, Union Pacific (UNP) management touted a recovery this month in carloads that partly offset a 6% yearly decline in January volumes, which was mostly attributed to adverse weather.

General Electric (NYSE:GE) added 2.8% to bring its year-to-date gain to 20%. The company has seen strong demand for jet engines, and is due this year to spin off its business that makes power turbines into a separate publicly traded company.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) slipped 1.5% to bring its year-to-date loss to 23%. The aviation giant this week shook up its factory management as it continues to grapple with the fallout from a midair emergency on an Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK) flight on January 5.

Analysts at Northcoast Research today downgraded Boeing’s (BA) stock on its uncertain outlook, while Bloomberg News reported that United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) is seeking to replace some of its Boeing (BA) orders with planes from rival Airbus (OTCPK:EADSY) (OTCPK:EADSF).