Lockheed Martin Among Capital Goods' Biggest Movers on November 7, 2012

On a bad day for the market, the Nasdaq has declined 2.7%, the S&P 500 is down 2.6% and the Dow has fallen 2.5%. 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 2.8%, underperforming the market overall. The current biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)	$6.27 billion	-7.6%
L-3 Communications (NYSE:LLL)	$7.48 billion	-6.1%
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)	$17.15 billion	-5.7%
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)	$30.7 billion	-5.1%
General Dynamics (NYSE:GD)	$24.45 billion	-4.8%
SPX (NYSE:SPW)	$3.62 billion	-4.7%
Cummins (NYSE:CMI)	$19.37 billion	-4%

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Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) is trading at $44.80 per share, down 7.6%. At 290,782 shares, the company's volume so far today is in line with the current daily average.

L-3 Communications (NYSE:LLL) has decreased to $72.72 per share, a 6.1% fall. The company's volume for the day so far is 739,039 shares.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) is currently trading at a share price of $65.88, a 5.7% decline. So far today, the company's volume is 1.4 million shares, consistent with the volume from yesterday.

Falling 5.1%, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) is currently at a share price of $90.02. So far today, the company's volume is 1.5 million shares. This is one times its average volume over the past three months.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) has fallen 4.8% and is currently trading at $65.93 per share. At 936,174 shares, the company's volume so far today is in line with the current daily average.

Slipping 4.7%, SPX (NYSE:SPW) is currently trading at $67.89 per share. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 118,908 shares.

Currently trading at $97.85 per share, Cummins (NYSE:CMI) has fallen 4%. At 1.3 million shares, the company's volume so far today is.

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.