Kinder Morgan Energy and Other Big Movers In Utilities on December 10, 2012

It's been a good morning for the market. The Nasdaq has moved up 0.6%; the S&P 500 has risen 0.2%; and the Dow is trading up 0.3%. 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.

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Crosstex Energy (Nasdaq:XTXI)	$593.1 million	+4.4%
Huaneng Power International, Inc (NYSE:HNP)	$12.96 billion	-3.2%
MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU)	$3.92 billion	+2.5%
National Fuel (NYSE:NFG)	$4.4 billion	+1.6%
Kinder Morgan Energy (NYSE:KMP)	$19.56 billion	+1.6%
El Paso Pipeline Partners (NYSE:EPB)	$8.15 billion	+1.2%
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP)	$4.85 billion	+1.2%

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Crosstex Energy (Nasdaq:XTXI) is at $13.06 per share after an increase of 4.4%. The company's volume for the day so far is 269,270 shares.

After a decline of 3.2%, Huaneng Power International, Inc (NYSE:HNP) has hit a share price of $35.65. At 159,840 shares, the company's volume so far today is 2.2 times the average daily volume.

After an increase of 2.5%, MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) has reached a current price of $21.28. The company's volume is currently 422,027 shares. Yesterday's volume was only 275,173 shares.

National Fuel (NYSE:NFG) is up 1.6% to reach a current price of $53.69 per share. With 97,468 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 0.4 times the average volume over the last three months.

Kinder Morgan Energy (NYSE:KMP) is currently trading at $80.66 per share, a 1.6% increase. The company is currently trading a volume of 320,479 shares.

El Paso Pipeline Partners (NYSE:EPB) is currently trading at $38.30 per share, a 1.2% increase. So far today, the company's volume is 313,652 shares, 0.8 times its current daily average.

Increasing 1.2%, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) is trading at $34.17 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 83,130 shares. This is about the same trading activity as there was yesterday.

The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. 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.