Basic Materials Stocks, Including BHP Billiton, Making Big Moves on October 17, 2012

After the morning's trading, the Nasdaq remains relatively unchanged, the S&P 500 is up 0.3% and the Dow has remained steady. 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.

These are the biggest movers in the Basic Materials sector (XLB) (+0.6%):

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Kaman (NYSE:KAMN)	$963.2 million	-19.4%
Endeavour Silver Corp (NYSE:EXK)	$922.4 million	-3.7%
Rio Tinto plc (NYSE:RIO)	$92.03 billion	+3.6%
BHP Billiton plc (NYSE:BBL)	$168 billion	+3.5%
BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP)	$184.66 billion	+2.7%
Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH)	$12.23 billion	+2.1%
PPG (NYSE:PPG)	$17.99 billion	+1.8%

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Kaman (NYSE:KAMN) is currently trading at $36.26 per share, after a steep drop of 19.4%. So far today, the company's volume is 14,356 shares.

At $8.96, Endeavour Silver Corp (NYSE:EXK) has slipped 3.7%. At 1.9 million shares, the company's volume so far today is which is more trading activity than there was yesterday.

Rio Tinto plc (NYSE:RIO) is at $51.46 per share after an increase of 3.6%. So far today, 2.3 million shares have changed hands. This is 0.8 times its current three-month average.

BHP Billiton plc (NYSE:BBL) is up 3.5% to reach a current price of $65.06 per share. The company's volume is currently 437,694 shares for the day, 0.7 times its current daily average.

After an increase of 2.7%, BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) has reached a current price of $70.94. The company's volume for the day so far is 2.4 million shares.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) has risen 2.1% to hit a current price of $83.73 per share. The company's volume is currently 485,670 shares for the day, on pace to finish the day below yesterday's volume of 1.6 million shares.

PPG (NYSE:PPG) has moved up 1.8% and is currently trading at $119.98 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 340,730 shares. This is consistent with its current three-month average.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. It is important to weigh current activity against historical performance when making any investment decisions. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.