General Electric (NYSE:GE) saw its shares begin to climb Friday on favorable news from the day before.
The company on Thursday it had successfully demonstrated the feasibility of its giant earthworm tunneling robot.
The $2.5-million project, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Underminer program, allowed General Electric to create a soft, fluid and dexterous autonomous prototype able to maneuver around obstacles underground.
The robot is able to tunnel at a distance comparable to commercially available trenchless technologies. Due to its soft, jointless design, General Electric’s earthworm can navigate extreme turning radiuses, operate in confined spaces and can pick up and move objects of many shapes and designs.
The news may have helped General Electric’s stock avoid closing below an important support level on a day where the general markets had investors feeling shaky. Now the stock could be set for a bounce higher.
On Thursday, amid general market weakness, General Electric’s stock briefly dropped below the critical level but closed the day above it. This demonstrates both the strength of the level as support and the strength of the stock overall.
The long lower shadow on Thursday’s candlestick also demonstrates that any time the price fell below support, bulls bought the dip.
GE gained 29 cents, or 2.3%, Friday to $13.16.