HDFC Bank Limited Among Financial's Biggest Movers on November 21, 2012

The Nasdaq is unchanged, the S&P 500 is trading up 0.1% and the Dow has climbed 0.2% so far today. The financial sector is the category of stocks containing firms that provide financial services to commercial and retail customers. This sector includes banks, investment funds, insurance companies and real estate. Financial services perform best in low interest rate environments. A large portion of this sector generates revenue from mortgages and loans, which gain value as interest rates drop. Furthermore, when the business cycle is in an upswing, the financial sector benefits from additional investments. Improved economic conditions usually lead to more capital projects and increased personal investing. New projects require financing, which usually leads to a larger number of loans.

The biggest movers in the Financial sector (XLF) (+0.4%) are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
National (Nasdaq:NATL)	$531.2 million	-6.2%
AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB)	$1.8 billion	+4.6%
Waddell & Reed Financial (NYSE:WDR)	$2.86 billion	-3.3%
Nelnet (NYSE:NNI)	$1.28 billion	+3%
Woori Finance Holdings Co., Ltd (NYSE:WF)	$7.52 billion	-2.7%
Nationstar Mortgage Holdings (NYSE:NSM)	$2.53 billion	-2.6%
HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB)	$30.55 billion	+2.2%

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National (Nasdaq:NATL) is trading at $25.50 per share, down 6.2%. The company's volume is currently 10,384 shares for the day, 0.7 times the current three-month average.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) has increased to a share price of $17.87, a 4.6% rise. The company's volume for the day so far is 408,726 shares.

Waddell & Reed Financial (NYSE:WDR) has fallen 3.3% and is currently trading at $32.32 per share. At 153,807 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.2 times its current daily average.

Nelnet (NYSE:NNI) has risen 3% to hit a current price of $27.82 per share. So far today, 38,347 shares of the company's stock have changed hands. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday.

Slipping 2.7%, Woori Finance Holdings Co., Ltd (NYSE:WF) is currently trading at $27.23 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 3,300 shares, 0.4 times its average over the past three months.

After a decline of 2.6%, Nationstar Mortgage Holdings (NYSE:NSM) has hit a share price of $27.30. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 231,947 shares.

After rising 2.2%, HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) is currently trading at a share price of $39.91. At 315,957 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.6 times the current daily 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. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.