Basic Materials Stocks, Including Praxair, Making Big Moves on October 19, 2012

The Nasdaq has slipped 1.6%, the S&P 500 is down 1% and the Dow is trading down 1.1%, marking a bad morning for the market. 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 1.5%, outperforming the market overall. Currently, the biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH)	$12.7 billion	-8.2%
Air Prods & Chems (NYSE:APD)	$18.07 billion	-5.4%
Carpenter (NYSE:CRS)	$2.97 billion	-3.1%
Deltic (NYSE:DEL)	$877.1 million	-2.6%
RTI International Metals (NYSE:RTI)	$720 million	+2.4%
CF Industries (NYSE:CF)	$13.27 billion	-2.3%
Praxair (NYSE:PX)	$32.19 billion	-1.8%

Forex Broker Summary: Forex Capital Markets (FXCM)

Slipping 8.2%, Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) is currently trading at $78.08 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 3.4 million shares, 2.3 times its current three-month average.

Air Prods & Chems (NYSE:APD) is trading at $80.75 per share, down 5.4%. The company is trading at a volume of 2.1 million shares. Yesterday's volume was only 1.5 million shares.

Carpenter (NYSE:CRS) is currently trading at a share price of $52.47, a 3.1% decline. So far today, the company's volume is 139,209 shares, in line with the current daily average.

After a decline of 2.6%, Deltic (NYSE:DEL) has hit a share price of $67.51. So far today, the company's volume is 7,060 shares.

Increasing 2.4%, RTI International Metals (NYSE:RTI) is trading at $24.33 per share. At 154,907 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.8 times its average over the past three months.

Falling 2.3%, CF Industries (NYSE:CF) is currently at a share price of $206.68. So far today, 472,080 shares of the company's stock have changed hands. This is on pace to reach yesterday's trading volume of 804,288 shares.

At $106.04, Praxair (NYSE:PX) has slipped 1.8%. So far today, the company's volume is 638,254 shares, 0.7 times the average daily volume.

The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. Paying close attention to the previous ratios will help you identify key times to adjust your strategy. 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.