Agrium Inc and Other Basic Materials Stocks Making Big Moves on October 12, 2012

The market is having a bad day so far: the Nasdaq has fallen 0.2%; the S&P 500 is down 0.4%; and the Dow has declined 0.2%. The basic materials sector is the category of stocks that accounts for companies involved with the discovery, development and processing of raw materials. This sector includes the mining and refining of metals, chemical producers and forestry products. The basic materials sector is sensitive to changes in the business cycle. Because the sector supplies materials for construction, it depends on a strong economy. This sector is also sensitive to supply and demand fluctuations because the price of raw materials, such as gold or other metals, is largely demand driven.

The Basic Materials sector (XLB) is down 0.5%, underperforming the market overall. The current biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
LSB Industries (NYSE:LXU)	$970.2 million	-6%
Aluminum Corp. of China Limited (NYSE:ACH)	$5.59 billion	+3.7%
Carpenter (NYSE:CRS)	$2.84 billion	-2.2%
CF Industries (NYSE:CF)	$13.47 billion	-2%
Kaiser (Nasdaq:KALU)	$1.1 billion	-1.9%
Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP)	$2.56 billion	-1.4%
Agrium Inc (NYSE:AGU)	$16.51 billion	-1.4%

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At $40.79, LSB Industries (NYSE:LXU) has slipped 6%. The company's volume is currently 137,004 shares for the day, 1.1 times the current daily average.

Aluminum Corp. of China Limited (NYSE:ACH) has moved up 3.7% and is currently trading at $10.72 per share. The company is trading at a volume of 67,577 shares.

Carpenter (NYSE:CRS) is trading at $50.75 per share, down 2.2%. The company's volume is currently 75,734 shares for the day, 0.2 times the current three-month average.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF) has decreased to $210.55 per share, a 2% fall. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 372,370 shares.

Kaiser (Nasdaq:KALU) is currently trading at a share price of $55.62, a 1.9% decline. At 26,677 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.4 times the average daily volume.

Falling 1.4%, Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) is currently at a share price of $76.25. So far today, the company's volume is 18,260 shares. At this rate, trading activity will likely be down from yesterday when 220,254 shares changed hands.

Currently trading at $103.01 per share, Agrium Inc (NYSE:AGU) has fallen 1.4%. At 212,594 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.3 times the average volume over the last three months.

The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. Paying close attention to the previous ratios will help you identify key times to adjust your strategy. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.