Harley-Davidson and Other Big Movers In Consumer Cyclical on December 11, 2012

The Nasdaq has moved up 1.7%, the S&P 500 is trading up 1% and the Dow has risen 0.9%, marking 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.

Underperforming the market overall, the Consumer Cyclical sector (XLY) is up 0.6%, and these are its current biggest movers:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Herman Miller (Nasdaq:MLHR)	$1.2 billion	+3.7%
Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS)	$9.94 billion	+3.4%
Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)	$10.56 billion	+2.8%
Sturm, Ruger (NYSE:RGR)	$931.2 million	-2.5%
Steven (Nasdaq:SHOO)	$1.95 billion	+2.2%
Tata Motors Limited (NYSE:TTM)	$2.51 billion	-1.9%
Under Armour (NYSE:UA)	$5.25 billion	+1.8%

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Herman Miller (Nasdaq:MLHR) is currently trading at $21.38 per share, a 3.7% increase. So far today, the company's volume is 76,424 shares, 0.3 times the current daily average.

Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS) is at $51.42 per share after an increase of 3.4%. The company is trading at a volume of 1.2 million shares. This is on pace to reach yesterday's trading volume of 3.1 million shares.

Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) has risen 2.8% to hit a current price of $47.97 per share. The company's volume is currently 1.3 million shares for the day, 0.9 times the average volume over the last three months.

Sturm, Ruger (NYSE:RGR) has decreased to $47.36 per share, a 2.5% fall. So far today, the company's volume is 313,501 shares.

Increasing 2.2%, Steven (Nasdaq:SHOO) is trading at $43.33 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 112,037 shares, 0.3 times the average daily volume.

At $25.57, Tata Motors Limited (NYSE:TTM) has slipped 1.9%. So far today, the company's volume is 519,460 shares. At this rate, trading activity will likely be down from yesterday when 1.5 million shares changed hands.

Under Armour (NYSE:UA) has increased to a share price of $51.05, a 1.8% rise. With 666,670 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is in keeping with its current three-month average.

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.