Fastenal and Other Capital Goods Stocks Making Big Moves on October 11, 2012

The Nasdaq has risen 0.3%, the S&P 500 is up 0.6% and the Dow has moved up 0.3% on a good day for the market so far. 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 up 0.8%, outperforming the market overall. The biggest movers in the sector so far are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Watsco (NYSE:WSO)	$2.3 billion	-10.1%
Fastenal (Nasdaq:FAST)	$12.53 billion	+9.4%
Joy Global (NYSE:JOY)	$5.95 billion	+4.1%
MSC Industrial Direct Co (NYSE:MSM)	$4.37 billion	+3.8%
Lennar (NYSE:LEN.B)	$888.4 million	-2.4%
Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL)	$1.42 billion	-2.4%
Tennant (NYSE:TNC)	$767 million	+2.3%

Broker Summary: Fidelity Online Brokerage

Shares of Watsco (NYSE:WSO) are currently trading at $69.43, a steep decline of 10.1%. So far today, the company's volume is 329,415 shares,. If a stock is trading on low volume, then there is not much interest in the stock. On the other hand, if a stock is trading on high volume, then there is a lot of interest in the stock.

After rising 9.4%, Fastenal (Nasdaq:FAST) is currently trading at a share price of $46.28. The company's volume for the morning is 3.9 million shares. This is 2.4 times its current daily average. High volume indicates a lot of investor interest while low volume indicates the opposite.

Joy Global (NYSE:JOY) has risen 4.1% to hit a current price of $58.49 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 1.2 million shares, in keeping with the average volume over the past three months. As a stock moves up or down, it is important to pay attention to the trading volume. This indicates the level of interest: the higher the volume, the more the interest.

Increasing 3.8%, MSC Industrial Direct Co (NYSE:MSM) is trading at $72.35 per share. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 251,772 shares. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price.

At $27.69, Lennar (NYSE:LEN.B) has slipped 2.4%. At 19,351 shares, the company's volume so far today is which is likely to result in less activity than yesterday's volume of 88,368 shares. If a stock price makes a big move up or down, volume lets us know the significance of that move.

Currently trading at $30.97 per share, Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL) has fallen 2.4%. The company's volume for the day so far is 529,929 shares. This is consistent with its current daily average. A stock's volume conveys how excited investors are about it.

Tennant (NYSE:TNC) has increased to a share price of $42.15, a 2.3% rise. The company's volume is currently 11,430 shares for the day, 0.2 times the current three-month average. The trading volume for a stock indicates the level of investor interest.

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