Grainger Among Consumer Cyclical's Biggest Movers on October 11, 2012

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

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK)	$2.46 billion	+13.6%
Cooper Tire & Rubber (NYSE:CTB)	$1.17 billion	+8.9%
Deckers (Nasdaq:DECK)	$1.3 billion	+5%
Grainger (NYSE:GWW)	$14.61 billion	+3.2%
Visteon (NYSE:VC)	$2.33 billion	+2.7%
Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS)	$10.09 billion	+2.4%
La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB)	$801.5 million	-2.2%

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Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK) has soared 13.6% to reach a current price of $30.51 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 1.6 million shares. In technical analysis, trading volume is used to determine the strength of a market indicator.

Cooper Tire & Rubber (NYSE:CTB) is up 8.9% to reach a current price of $20.35 per share. At 2.7 million shares, the company's volume so far today is 2.8 times the current three-month average. 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 5%, Deckers (Nasdaq:DECK) is currently trading at a share price of $36.81. So far this morning, 616,381 shares have changed hands. This is consistent with its current daily average. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement.

Grainger (NYSE:GWW) has risen 3.2% to hit a current price of $216.21 per share. So far today, 287,569 shares have changed hands, which is more trading activity than there was yesterday. A stock's volume conveys how excited investors are about it.

After an increase of 2.7%, Visteon (NYSE:VC) has reached a current price of $45.34. The company is currently trading a volume of 92,034 shares. If a stock price moves on high volume, this means that the change is a significant one.

Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS) is currently trading at $53.46 per share, a 2.4% increase. With 1.9 million shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 0.6 times the average volume over the last 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.

La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) has decreased to $15 per share, a 2.2% fall. The company's volume for the morning is 139,373 shares. This is consistent with its current daily average. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is.

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. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.