Huaneng Power International, Inc and More Big Movers in Utilities on December 14, 2012

The Nasdaq is down 0.8%, the S&P 500 has slipped 0.2% and the Dow has decreased 0.1%, marking a bad morning for the market. The utilities sector is a category of stocks for utilities such as gas and power. It contains companies such as electric, gas and water firms and integrated providers. Because utilities require significant infrastructure, these firms often carry large amounts of debt. With a high debt load, utilities companies become sensitive to changes in the interest rate. As interest rates rise or drop, the debt payments will increase or decrease. The utilities sector performs best when interest rates are falling or remain low.

The Utilities sector (XLU) is down 0.3%, outperforming the market overall. Currently, the biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Huaneng Power International, Inc (NYSE:HNP)	$12.44 billion	+2%
Copano Energy (Nasdaq:CPNO)	$2.33 billion	+2%
PNM Resources (NYSE:PNM)	$1.65 billion	-1.7%
Northeast Utilities (NYSE:NU)	$12.35 billion	-1.6%
UniSource (NYSE:UNS)	$1.73 billion	-1.6%
NRG (NYSE:NRG)	$5.19 billion	+1.5%
CPFL Energia S.A (NYSE:CPL)	$10.34 billion	-1.5%

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Huaneng Power International, Inc (NYSE:HNP) has risen 2% and is currently trading at $36.10 per share. So far today, 27,343 shares have changed hands.

Increasing 2%, Copano Energy (Nasdaq:CPNO) is trading at $30.14 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 210,302 shares, one times the current three-month average.

PNM Resources (NYSE:PNM) has decreased to $20.34 per share, a 1.7% fall. The company's volume for the day so far is 202,791 shares. This is on pace to fall short of yesterday's volume of 621,184 shares.

Slipping 1.6%, Northeast Utilities (NYSE:NU) is currently trading at $38.71 per share. At 839,334 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.6 times the current daily average.

After a decline of 1.6%, UniSource (NYSE:UNS) has hit a share price of $41.08. So far today, the company's volume is 104,355 shares.

After an increase of 1.5%, NRG (NYSE:NRG) has reached a current price of $23.09. So far today, the company's volume is three million shares, 0.7 times its average over the past three months.

Falling 1.5%, CPFL Energia S.A (NYSE:CPL) is currently at a share price of $21.17. So far today, the company's volume is 225,655 shares. This is on pace to reach yesterday's trading volume of 404,974 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. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.