Kubota Corporation and Other Big Movers In Capital Goods on October 15, 2012

The Nasdaq has climbed 0.3%, the S&P 500 is up 0.3% and the Dow has risen 0.3%, marking a bad morning for the market. 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 up 0.2%, underperforming the market overall. The biggest movers in the sector are currently:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Alliant Techsystems (NYSE:ATK)	$1.7 billion	+3.7%
Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL)	$1.33 billion	+2.8%
Chart Industries (Nasdaq:GTLS)	$2.05 billion	+2.3%
Elbit Systems Ltd (Nasdaq:ESLT)	$1.54 billion	+2.2%
Caesarstone (Nasdaq:CSTE)	$515.5 million	-2%
Meritage (NYSE:MTH)	$1.39 billion	+1.8%
Kubota Corporation (NYSE:KUB)	$12.69 billion	+1.7%

Beginner's Guide To Stockcharts.com

Alliant Techsystems (NYSE:ATK) has risen 3.7% to hit a current price of $53.86 per share. So far today, 155,078 shares of the company's stock have changed hands. This is more trading activity than there was yesterday.

Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL) is at $30.46 per share after an increase of 2.8%. The company's volume is currently 256,025 shares for the day, 0.2 times the average daily volume.

Chart Industries (Nasdaq:GTLS) has risen 2.3% to hit a current price of $70.27 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 137,110 shares.

Increasing 2.2%, Elbit Systems Ltd (Nasdaq:ESLT) is trading at $36.69 per share. At 6,639 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.9 times its average over the past three months.

Caesarstone (Nasdaq:CSTE) is trading at $14.70 per share, down 2%. The company's volume is currently 5,110 shares. This is about the same trading activity as there was yesterday.

After rising 1.8%, Meritage (NYSE:MTH) is currently trading at a share price of $39.98. The company's volume is currently 176,975 shares for the day, 0.3 times the current daily average.

Kubota Corporation (NYSE:KUB) is up 1.7% to reach a current price of $51.36 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of 3,425 shares.

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. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.