China Petroleum & Chemical Corp and Other Oil and Gas Operations Stocks Making Big Moves on October 22, 2012

After the morning's trading, the Nasdaq has increased 0.3%, the S&P 500 has decreased 0.2% and the Dow has declined 0.2%.

The Oil and Gas Operations sector (DIG) is up 1.2% overall, and these are the biggest movers in the sector so far:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
InterOil Corporation (NYSE:IOC)	$3.4 billion	-6.6%
Nexen Inc (NYSE:NXY)	$13.46 billion	-5.4%
EnCana Corporation (NYSE:ECA)	$17.58 billion	-4.1%
Calumet Specialty Products Partners (Nasdaq:CLMT)	$1.81 billion	+2.5%
Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR)	$13.95 billion	-2.3%
Concho Resources (NYSE:CXO)	$9.66 billion	-2%
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (NYSE:SNP)	$91.47 billion	+2%

Broker Summary: TD Ameritrade Thinkorswim

InterOil Corporation (NYSE:IOC) has fallen 6.6% and is currently trading at $65.72 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 614,031 shares, 0.8 times the average daily volume.

Nexen Inc (NYSE:NXY) is down 5.4% to reach $24.03 per share. So far today, 32.2 million shares have changed hands.

After a decline of 4.1%, EnCana Corporation (NYSE:ECA) has hit a share price of $22.94. The company's volume for the day so far is 4.5 million shares, 0.8 times the current three-month average.

Calumet Specialty Products Partners (Nasdaq:CLMT) has increased to a share price of $32.30, a 2.5% rise. So far today, 172,252 shares of the company's stock have changed hands.

Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) is currently trading at a share price of $75.22, a 2.3% decline. So far today, the company's volume is 516,468 shares, in line with the current daily average.

Concho Resources (NYSE:CXO) is trading at $90.50 per share, down 2%. The company is currently trading a volume of 375,777 shares.

After rising 2%, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (NYSE:SNP) is currently trading at a share price of $107.45. At 73,374 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.8 times 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. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. 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.