Consumer Cyclical Stocks, Including Michael Kors, Making Big Moves on December 28, 2012

The market is having a bad day so far. The Nasdaq has fallen 0.3%; the S&P 500 has slipped 0.5%; and the Dow is trading down 0.5%. The consumer cyclical sector is a category of stocks that relies heavily on the business cycle and economic conditions. Consumer cyclicals include industries such as automotive, housing, entertainment and retail. The category can be further divided into durable and non-durable sections. Durable cyclicals include physical goods such as hardware or vehicles, while non-durables represent items like movies or hotel services. The performance of consumer cyclicals is highly related to the state of the economy. They represent goods and services that are not considered necessities, but luxurious purchases. During contractions or recessions, people have less disposable income to spend on consumer cyclicals. When the economy is expanding or booming, the sales of these goods rise as retail and leisure spending increase.

The Consumer Cyclical sector (XLY) is currently lagging behind the overall market, down 0.4%, and its current biggest movers are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
KONAMI CORPORATION (NYSE:KNM)	$3.23 billion	-4.5%
LeapFrog Enterprises (NYSE:LF)	$539.1 million	+2.8%
Oxford Industries (NYSE:OXM)	$768.5 million	-2.7%
Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS)	$9.87 billion	-2.1%
Under Armour (NYSE:UA)	$5.03 billion	-1.9%
Steelcase (NYSE:SCS)	$1.53 billion	+1.7%
Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR)	$7.88 billion	-1.6%

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Slipping 4.5%, KONAMI CORPORATION (NYSE:KNM) is currently trading at $22.22 per share. With 6,675 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 2.6 times its average over the past three months.

LeapFrog Enterprises (NYSE:LF) has risen 2.8% and is currently trading at $8.20 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of 615,333 shares.

Currently trading at $45.11 per share, Oxford Industries (NYSE:OXM) has fallen 2.7%. The company's volume is currently 50,119 shares for the day, 0.4 times its current daily average.

Falling 2.1%, Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS) is currently at a share price of $48.38. So far today, the company's volume is 1.3 million shares. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday.

Under Armour (NYSE:UA) has decreased to $47.16 per share, a 1.9% fall. At 434,830 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.2 times its current three-month average.

Steelcase (NYSE:SCS) has risen 1.7% and is currently trading at $12.41 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 257,460 shares.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) is down 1.6% to reach $99.52 per share. At 185,791 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.2 times the 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.