Deere and More Big Movers in Capital Goods on December 27, 2012

This morning's trading has marked a bad day for the market so far. The Nasdaq has fallen 0.7%; the S&P 500 has slipped 0.8%; and the Dow has declined 0.6%. The capital goods sector is the category of stocks related to the manufacture or distribution of goods. The sector is diverse, containing companies that manufacture machinery used to create capital goods, electrical equipment, aerospace and defense, engineering and construction projects. It is also referred to as the "industrials sector". Performance in the capital goods sector is sensitive to fluctuations in the business cycle. Because it relies heavily on manufacturing, the sector does well when the economy is booming or expanding. As economic conditions worsen, the demand for capital goods drops off, usually lowering the prices of stocks in the sector.

The Capital Goods sector (XLI) is down 0.7%, underperforming the market overall. The current biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Kubota Corporation (NYSE:KUB)	$14.67 billion	-1.9%
Jacobs (NYSE:JEC)	$5.54 billion	-1.7%
Lindsay (NYSE:LNN)	$995.3 million	-1.3%
Cummins (NYSE:CMI)	$20.37 billion	-1.2%
Sauer-Danfoss (NYSE:SHS)	$2.52 billion	+1.1%
Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP)	$2.79 billion	-1%
Deere (NYSE:DE)	$33.56 billion	-1%

Broker Summary: Charles Schwab Online Brokerage

After a decline of 1.9%, Kubota Corporation (NYSE:KUB) has hit a share price of $57.27. The company's volume is currently 2,208 shares for the day, 0.1 times its average over the past three months.

Slipping 1.7%, Jacobs (NYSE:JEC) is currently trading at $41.87 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 201,031 shares.

Lindsay (NYSE:LNN) has decreased to $76.54 per share, a 1.3% fall. So far today, the company's volume is 9,302 shares, 0.1 times the current daily average.

Falling 1.2%, Cummins (NYSE:CMI) is currently at a share price of $105.86. So far today, the company's volume is 316,698 shares. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday.

Increasing 1.1%, Sauer-Danfoss (NYSE:SHS) is trading at $52.63 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 37,925 shares, 0.3 times the average volume over the last three months.

At $56.51, Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP) has slipped 1%. So far today, 64,836 shares have changed hands.

Deere (NYSE:DE) is down 1% to reach $85.67 per share. At 768,327 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.3 times the average daily volume.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. 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.