Huaneng Power International, Inc and Other Utilities Stocks Making Big Moves on January 3, 2013

The morning has been quiet for the market. The Nasdaq is unchanged; the S&P 500 has remained steady; and the Dow remains relatively unchanged. 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.

While the market overall has shown little change, the Utilities sector (XLU) is up 0.1% and its current biggest movers are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Clean Energy (Nasdaq:CLNE)	$1.15 billion	+5.3%
Atlantic (NYSE:AT)	$1.44 billion	-3.7%
Targa (NYSE:TRGP)	$2.34 billion	+3.4%
Huaneng Power International, Inc (NYSE:HNP)	$13.5 billion	-3.2%
Niska Gas Storage (NYSE:NKA)	$767.7 million	+3%
Atlas (NYSE:ATLS)	$1.8 billion	+2.8%
Western Gas (NYSE:WES)	$4.71 billion	+1.6%

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Clean Energy (Nasdaq:CLNE) is currently trading at $13.80 per share, a 5.3% increase. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 890,589 shares. This is 0.7 times the average volume over the last three months.

Atlantic (NYSE:AT) has decreased to $11.61 per share, a 3.7% fall. The company's volume is currently 339,941 shares for the day, consistent with its current daily average.

Targa (NYSE:TRGP) is up 3.4% to reach a current price of $57.01 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 185,268 shares.

Falling 3.2%, Huaneng Power International, Inc (NYSE:HNP) is currently at a share price of $37.20. At 39,141 shares, the company's volume so far today is on pace to finish the day below yesterday's volume of 108,944 shares.

After rising 3%, Niska Gas Storage (NYSE:NKA) is currently trading at a share price of $11.58. So far today, 40,538 shares have changed hands. This is in keeping with its current three-month average.

After an increase of 2.8%, Atlas (NYSE:ATLS) has reached a current price of $35.94. So far today, the company's volume is 146,840 shares, consistent with its current daily average.

Western Gas (NYSE:WES) has risen 1.6% and is currently trading at $49.87 per share. So far today, 69,192 shares have changed hands.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. 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.