Ford Among Consumer Cyclical's Biggest Movers on December 14, 2012

The Nasdaq has declined 0.8%, the S&P 500 has fallen 0.2% and the Dow has slipped 0.1% on a bad morning for the market. 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 down 0.3%, outperforming the market overall. Currently, the biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Ford (NYSE:F)	$42.97 billion	+65.2%
Quiksilver (NYSE:ZQK)	$675.3 million	-15.5%
Ethan Allen Interiors (NYSE:ETH)	$760.2 million	-6.8%
G-III Apparel (Nasdaq:GIII)	$679.9 million	-6.4%
Westport Innovations Inc (Nasdaq:WPRT)	$1.53 billion	-2.8%
Harman International Industries (NYSE:HAR)	$2.79 billion	+2.1%
Illinois Tool (NYSE:ITW)	$28.76 billion	-2%

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Ford (NYSE:F) has soared 65.2% to reach a current price of $18.62 per share. So far today, 1,775 shares have changed hands. This is zero times its current three-month average.

Quiksilver (NYSE:ZQK) is at a share price of $3.44 after a sharp decline of 15.5%. At 1.7 million shares, the company's volume so far today is more than yesterday's 1.4 million shares.

Ethan Allen Interiors (NYSE:ETH) has fallen 6.8% and is currently trading at $24.56 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 619,624 shares.

G-III Apparel (Nasdaq:GIII) is down 6.4% to reach $31.65 per share. The company's volume is currently 329,624 shares for the day, 1.2 times the average daily volume.

Falling 2.8%, Westport Innovations Inc (Nasdaq:WPRT) is currently at a share price of $26.95. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 248,502 shares. This is 0.4 times the current three-month average.

Harman International Industries (NYSE:HAR) is currently trading at $42.04 per share, a 2.1% increase. So far today, 287,341 shares have changed hands, lighter than yesterday's volume of 883,236 shares.

Illinois Tool (NYSE:ITW) has decreased to $60.83 per share, a 2% fall. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 1.9 million shares.

The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. 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.