GE, Citigroup Suddenly Trade Like Twins

Updated to add information on Friday's trading.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- General Electric (GE Quote) and Citigroup (C Quote) suddenly appear to have a lot in common.

Both companies have been beaten up by investors during the crisis, though GE not nearly as much. And while GE did benefit heavily from government backing for its debt issues, it obviously did not need nearly as much help as Citi.

Still, both were darlings during the 1990s and into the early part of this decade, growing through acquisitions. Those same acquisitions gave investors pause during this crisis, as it became apparent these giants were so vast and complicated that few investors understood what they were buying.

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But then all was forgotten as both companies saw huge rallies leading up to their third-quarter reports in mid-October. Citi shares rose nearly 50% from August 3 until the bank's Oct. 14 report, while GE ran up 25% from August 3 to its Oct. 16 report.

Both companies' shares are down sharply since then. Citi's shares were down some 20% since its report through Thursday, while GE is off about 15% since disclosing its third-quarter numbers.

The selloff in these names mirrors that in other financials, including Bank of America (BAC Quote), Wells Fargo (WFC Quote) and even industry leaders like Goldman Sachs (GS Quote)and JPMorgan Chase (GS Quote). All of this has happened while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has essentially been flat.

It's a sign GE is back to trading like a financial, for one. The selloff has come while industrials like Caterpillar (CAT Quote), Honeywell (HON Quote) and United Technologies (UTX Quote) have all moved up slightly since Oct. 15.