Deere and Other Capital Goods Stocks Making Big Moves on November 23, 2012

On a good day for the market, the Nasdaq has risen 1.3%, the S&P 500 has increased 1% and the Dow has moved up 1%. 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.

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
US Silica Holdings (NYSE:SLCA)	$849.2 million	-5.8%
CNH Global NV (NYSE:CNH)	$11.46 billion	+3.4%
Pentair (NYSE:PNR)	$9.69 billion	+2.4%
AGCO (NYSE:AGCO)	$4.33 billion	+2.2%
DXP Enterprises (Nasdaq:DXPE)	$674 million	-1.5%
Cummins (NYSE:CMI)	$18.68 billion	+1.3%
Deere (NYSE:DE)	$32.44 billion	+1.2%

Broker Summary: TD Ameritrade Thinkorswim

Currently trading at $15.14 per share, US Silica Holdings (NYSE:SLCA) has fallen 5.8%. So far today, the company's volume is 191,247 shares.

After an increase of 3.4%, CNH Global NV (NYSE:CNH) has reached a current price of $49.11. At 1.2 million shares, the company's volume so far today is consistent with the volume from yesterday lighter than yesterday's volume of 2.5 million shares.

Pentair (NYSE:PNR) has risen 2.4% to hit a current price of $47.36 per share. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 891,007 shares. This is in keeping with the average volume over the past three months.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) has risen 2.2% and is currently trading at $45.56 per share. At 392,371 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.3 times the current daily average.

DXP Enterprises (Nasdaq:DXPE) has fallen 1.5% and is currently trading at $46.80 per share. So far today, 7,050 shares have changed hands.

Rising 1.3%, Cummins (NYSE:CMI) is currently trading at $99.57 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 509,197 shares,.

After rising 1.2%, Deere (NYSE:DE) is currently trading at a share price of $83.83. The company is currently trading a volume of 1.4 million shares. This is 0.4 times the current three-month average.

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. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.