Continental Resources and Other Big Movers In Energy on December 13, 2012

This morning's trading has marked a bad day for the market so far. The Nasdaq has slipped 0.4%; the S&P 500 has slipped 0.3%; and the Dow has decreased 0.2%. The energy sector is the category of stocks that relate to producing or supplying energy. This sector includes companies involved in the exploration and development of oil or gas reserves, oil and gas drilling, or integrated power firms. Performance in the sector is largely driven by the supply and demand for worldwide energy. Energy producers will do very well during times of high oil and gas prices, but will earn less when the value of energy drops. Furthermore, this sector is sensitive to political events, which historically have driven changes in the price of oil.

The Energy sector (XLE) is currently lagging behind the overall market, down 0.6%, and its current biggest movers are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR)	$13.87 billion	-3.2%
Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE)	$5.35 billion	-2.5%
Concho Resources (NYSE:CXO)	$8.79 billion	-2.3%
Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE:COG)	$10.22 billion	-2.3%
Tesoro (NYSE:TSO)	$5.62 billion	+2%
IHS (NYSE:IHS)	$6.21 billion	-1.9%
Pioneer Natural Res (NYSE:PXD)	$13.01 billion	-1.9%

Broker Summary: OptionsXpress Online Trading Platform

At $72.54, Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) has slipped 3.2%. This morning, the company's volume is 876,787 shares. This is 0.6 times its current daily average.

Falling 2.5%, Baytex Energy Corp (NYSE:BTE) is currently at a share price of $43.04. The company's volume is currently 108,142 shares for the day, 0.4 times the current three-month average.

Concho Resources (NYSE:CXO) is trading at $82.09 per share, down 2.3%. The company's volume is currently 487,514 shares. At this rate, trading activity will likely be down from yesterday when 1.4 million shares changed hands.

Slipping 2.3%, Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE:COG) is currently trading at $47.48 per share. So far today, the company's volume is one million shares.

Tesoro (NYSE:TSO) has risen 2% to hit a current price of $40.78 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 1.5 million shares, in keeping with its current daily average.

Currently trading at $92.32 per share, IHS (NYSE:IHS) has fallen 1.9%. So far today, 268,825 shares have changed hands. This is consistent with its current three-month average.

After a decline of 1.9%, Pioneer Natural Res (NYSE:PXD) has hit a share price of $103.58. So far today, 357,048 shares have changed hands, which is likely to result in less activity than yesterday's volume of 1.6 million shares.

The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. It is important to weigh current activity against historical performance when making any investment decisions. 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.