CF Industries and Other Big Movers In Basic Materials on December 12, 2012

The Nasdaq has moved little, the S&P 500 has moved up 0.2% and the Dow has climbed 0.2% after the morning's trading. 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) has been relatively flat so far today and here are its biggest movers:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
American (NYSE:AVD)	$927.1 million	-9.3%
Greif (NYSE:GEF)	$1.95 billion	+5.9%
Sun (Nasdaq:SNHY)	$702.1 million	-4.6%
FMC (NYSE:FMC)	$7.45 billion	+4.1%
Innospec (Nasdaq:IOSP)	$755 million	-3.6%
Greif (NYSE:GEF.B)	$1 billion	+3.1%
CF Industries (NYSE:CF)	$13.66 billion	-2.8%

Broker Summary: Charles Schwab Online Brokerage

American (NYSE:AVD) has fallen 9.3% and is currently trading at $29.96 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 501,129 shares.

Greif (NYSE:GEF) has increased to a share price of $43.47, a 5.9% rise. The company's volume for the day so far is 405,665 shares, 1.5 times the average volume over the last three months.

Sun (Nasdaq:SNHY) is down 4.6% to reach $25.68 per share. The company's volume for the morning is 18,662 shares. This is 0.3 times the current daily average.

After an increase of 4.1%, FMC (NYSE:FMC) has reached a current price of $56.42. So far today, the company's volume is 772,613 shares,.

Innospec (Nasdaq:IOSP) is currently trading at a share price of $31.25, a 3.6% decline. The company's volume for the day so far is 60,844 shares.

Increasing 3.1%, Greif (NYSE:GEF.B) is trading at $46.80 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 14,070 shares, 2.7 times its current three-month average.

At $211.18, CF Industries (NYSE:CF) has slipped 2.8%. So far this morning, 578,793 shares have changed hands. This is 0.7 times its average daily volume.

The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.