Joy Global and Other Big Movers In Capital Goods on November 16, 2012

On a bad day for the market, the Nasdaq has decreased 1%, the S&P 500 has slipped 0.6% and the Dow is trading down 0.8%. The capital goods sector is the category of stocks related to the manufacture or distribution of goods. The sector is diverse, containing companies that manufacture machinery used to create capital goods, electrical equipment, aerospace and defense, engineering and construction projects. It is also referred to as the "industrials sector". Performance in the capital goods sector is sensitive to fluctuations in the business cycle. Because it relies heavily on manufacturing, the sector does well when the economy is booming or expanding. As economic conditions worsen, the demand for capital goods drops off, usually lowering the prices of stocks in the sector.

The Capital Goods sector (XLI) is down 0.6%, outperforming the market overall. Currently, the biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Astec Industries (Nasdaq:ASTE)	$631.9 million	-5.8%
KB Home (NYSE:KBH)	$1.05 billion	+2.8%
Gardner Denver (NYSE:GDI)	$3.42 billion	-2.7%
Joy Global (NYSE:JOY)	$5.86 billion	-2.5%
Lindsay (NYSE:LNN)	$939.1 million	-2.1%
James Hardie Industries SE (NYSE:JHX)	$3.98 billion	-2.1%
Toll Brothers, Inc (NYSE:TOL)	$5 billion	+2.1%

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Astec Industries (Nasdaq:ASTE) has decreased to $26.13 per share, a 5.8% fall. The company's volume is currently 37,751 shares for the day, in keeping with its current daily average.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH) has moved up 2.8% and is currently trading at $14 per share. The company is trading at a volume of 2.4 million shares. At this rate, trading activity will likely be down from yesterday when 12.2 million shares changed hands.

Falling 2.7%, Gardner Denver (NYSE:GDI) is currently at a share price of $67.67. At 293,133 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.6 times its current three-month average.

At $53.94, Joy Global (NYSE:JOY) has slipped 2.5%. The company's volume for the day so far is 733,144 shares.

After a decline of 2.1%, Lindsay (NYSE:LNN) has hit a share price of $72.26. The company's volume is currently 59,384 shares for the day, 0.7 times the average daily volume.

James Hardie Industries SE (NYSE:JHX) is currently trading at a share price of $44.57, a 2.1% decline. So far today, 1,675 shares of the company's stock have changed hands. This is on pace to fall short of yesterday's volume of 5,118 shares.

Toll Brothers, Inc (NYSE:TOL) is currently trading at $30.34 per share, a 2.1% increase. So far today, the company's volume is 1.8 million shares, in keeping with the average volume over the past three months.

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.