Why General Electric Stock Is Soaring Today

Shares of General Electric (NYSE: GE) jumped higher this morning and were up 5.4% as of 10 a.m. ET. Investors in the industrial giant woke up to two big announcements from the company. The fact that these developments came one day ahead of GE's annual investor day juiced up expectations for even bigger things to come from GE on March 10.

General Electric took to social-media platform Twitter to announce its decision to suspend operations in Russia, but said it will continue to provide essential medical equipment and power services in the region. According to GE's latest annual report, the company hasn't provided any information on its operations in Russia, except that it has two subsidiaries in the region, including one in healthcare.

While GE's move to suspend business in Russia isn't surprising, as several large and established global companies have already pulled out, it's the other big announcement from GE that's sending the stock soaring today: In its latest regulatory filing, GE said it authorized a share-repurchase program worth up to $3 billion on March 6.

Source Fool.com