Basic Materials Stocks, Including Randgold Resources Ltd, Making Big Moves on November 14, 2012

The market has been slipping so far today. The Nasdaq has fallen 0.4%; the S&P 500 is trading down 0.5%; and the Dow has declined 0.7%. 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 0.7%, underperforming the market overall. The current biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG)	$5.59 billion	-17.2%
LSB Industries (NYSE:LXU)	$854.2 million	-7.2%
KiOR (Nasdaq:KIOR)	$711.4 million	+6.1%
Randgold Resources Ltd (Nasdaq:GOLD)	$9.94 billion	-5.6%
Terra Nitrogen Company (NYSE:TNH)	$4.27 billion	-5%
Compania de Minas Buenaventura SA (NYSE:BVN)	$8.93 billion	-4.5%
Deltic (NYSE:DEL)	$805.6 million	-3.6%

Broker Summary: TD Ameritrade Thinkorswim

After a precipitous drop of 17.2%, IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG) is now trading at a share price of $12.30. At 9.2 million shares, the company's volume so far today is more than yesterday's 2.1 million shares.

Currently trading at $35.39 per share, LSB Industries (NYSE:LXU) has fallen 7.2%. This morning, the company's volume is 190,116 shares. This is 1.3 times its average daily volume.

After rising 6.1%, KiOR (Nasdaq:KIOR) is currently trading at a share price of $6.81. So far today, the company's volume is 554,818 shares, 1.7 times the average volume over the last three months.

Randgold Resources Ltd (Nasdaq:GOLD) has fallen 5.6% and is currently trading at $102.09 per share. So far today, 833,806 shares have changed hands.

After a decline of 5%, Terra Nitrogen Company (NYSE:TNH) has hit a share price of $219.06. The company's volume is currently 22,749 shares for the day,.

Slipping 4.5%, Compania de Minas Buenaventura SA (NYSE:BVN) is currently trading at $33.53 per share. The company's volume for the morning is 1.3 million shares. This is 1.4 times the average daily volume.

Deltic (NYSE:DEL) is currently trading at a share price of $61.37, a 3.6% decline. At 14,278 shares, the company's volume so far today is in keeping with its current three-month average.

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.