Honda Motor Co., Ltd and More Big Movers in Consumer Cyclical on October 15, 2012

The market is doing well so far today. The Nasdaq has moved up 0.3%; the S&P 500 has climbed 0.3%; and the Dow has risen 0.3%. 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.

Outperforming the market overall, the Consumer Cyclical sector (XLY) is up 0.4% and its biggest movers so far today are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Titan International (NYSE:TWI)	$754.5 million	+5.2%
Honda Motor Co., Ltd (NYSE:HMC)	$53.89 billion	+3.5%
Dunkin\' Brands Group (Nasdaq:DNKN)	$3.33 billion	+3.3%
Smith (Nasdaq:SWHC)	$666.1 million	-3.2%
Hasbro (Nasdaq:HAS)	$5.12 billion	-3.2%
Navistar (NYSE:NAV)	$1.53 billion	-2.5%
Tata Motors Limited (NYSE:TTM)	$2.47 billion	-2.5%

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Titan International (NYSE:TWI) has risen 5.2% and is currently trading at $18.76 per share. The company's volume is currently 425,314 shares for the day, 0.6 times the current three-month average.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd (NYSE:HMC) has risen 3.5% to hit a current price of $30.94 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 213,609 shares.

Rising 3.3%, Dunkin' Brands Group (Nasdaq:DNKN) is currently trading at $32.63 per share. The company's volume is currently 1.6 million shares for the day, 1.3 times the current daily average.

Smith (Nasdaq:SWHC) is down 3.2% to reach $9.84 per share. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 826,265 shares.

At $38.05, Hasbro (Nasdaq:HAS) has slipped 3.2%. So far today, the company's volume is 1.6 million shares, 1.3 times its average over the past three months.

Navistar (NYSE:NAV) is trading at $21.73 per share, down 2.5%. The company is trading at a volume of 706,309 shares.

Tata Motors Limited (NYSE:TTM) is currently trading at a share price of $24.99, a 2.5% decline. The company's volume is currently 462,823 shares for the day, in keeping with its current daily average.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. 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.