3M and More Big Movers in Capital Goods on December 11, 2012

It's been a good morning for the market. The Nasdaq is trading up 1.7%; the S&P 500 has increased 1%; and the Dow has climbed 0.9%. The capital goods sector is the category of stocks related to the manufacture or distribution of goods. The sector is diverse, containing companies that manufacture machinery used to create capital goods, electrical equipment, aerospace and defense, engineering and construction projects. It is also referred to as the "industrials sector". Performance in the capital goods sector is sensitive to fluctuations in the business cycle. Because it relies heavily on manufacturing, the sector does well when the economy is booming or expanding. As economic conditions worsen, the demand for capital goods drops off, usually lowering the prices of stocks in the sector.

The Capital Goods sector (XLI) is up 0.7%, underperforming the market overall. The biggest movers in the sector are currently:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
SPX (NYSE:SPW)	$3.47 billion	-7.9%
AMCOL (NYSE:ACO)	$971.2 million	+4%
AGCO (NYSE:AGCO)	$4.51 billion	+3.9%
Gardner Denver (NYSE:GDI)	$3.35 billion	+2.5%
Cummins (NYSE:CMI)	$19.62 billion	+2.3%
Kennametal (NYSE:KMT)	$3.17 billion	-2.3%
3M (NYSE:MMM)	$63.57 billion	+2.1%

Forex Broker Summary: Forex Capital Markets (FXCM)

SPX (NYSE:SPW) has decreased to $62.95 per share, a 7.9% fall. So far today, the company's volume is 3.1 million shares. Yesterday, volume was only 467,015 shares.

AMCOL (NYSE:ACO) is at $31.61 per share after an increase of 4%. The company's volume is currently 37,348 shares for the day, in keeping with its current daily average.

After rising 3.9%, AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) is currently trading at a share price of $48.28. So far today, the company's volume is 1.1 million shares.

Gardner Denver (NYSE:GDI) has moved up 2.5% and is currently trading at $69.90 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 1.4 million shares, 2.6 times its current three-month average.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI) has risen 2.3% and is currently trading at $105.59 per share. So far today, one million shares of the company's stock have changed hands.

Falling 2.3%, Kennametal (NYSE:KMT) is currently at a share price of $38.97. So far today, the company's volume is 978,168 shares, 1.8 times the average daily volume.

3M (NYSE:MMM) is up 2.1% to reach a current price of $93.80 per share. So far today, 1.4 million shares have changed hands.

The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. It is important to weigh current activity against historical performance when making any investment decisions. Tools like valuation ratios and profit margins, however, are only as useful as the context you put them in; remember to take historical data and competitor performance into account.