Nexen Inc and More Big Movers in Energy on October 22, 2012

The Nasdaq has increased 0.3%, the S&P 500 has fallen 0.2% and the Dow has declined 0.2% after the morning's trading. The energy sector is the category of stocks that relate to producing or supplying energy. This sector includes companies involved in the exploration and development of oil or gas reserves, oil and gas drilling, or integrated power firms. Performance in the sector is largely driven by the supply and demand for worldwide energy. Energy producers will do very well during times of high oil and gas prices, but will earn less when the value of energy drops. Furthermore, this sector is sensitive to political events, which historically have driven changes in the price of oil.

The biggest movers in the Energy sector (XLE) (+0.5%) are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU)	$6.95 billion	+11.7%
InterOil Corporation (NYSE:IOC)	$3.4 billion	-6.6%
Nexen Inc (NYSE:NXY)	$13.46 billion	-5.4%
Teekay Offshore Partners (NYSE:TOO)	$2.18 billion	-4.7%
Sunoco Logistics Partners (NYSE:SXL)	$5.03 billion	+3.4%
Alliance Holdings GP (Nasdaq:AHGP)	$2.97 billion	+2.7%
Calumet Specialty Products Partners (Nasdaq:CLMT)	$1.81 billion	+2.5%

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Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) is trading at $28.91 per share, a significant rise of 11.7%. At 21 million shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.9 times the current daily average.

Slipping 6.6%, InterOil Corporation (NYSE:IOC) is currently trading at $65.72 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 614,031 shares.

Nexen Inc (NYSE:NXY) is trading at $24.03 per share, down 5.4%. At 32.2 million shares, the company's volume so far today is 6.8 times its current three-month average.

Teekay Offshore Partners (NYSE:TOO) has fallen 4.7% and is currently trading at $26.11 per share. The company is trading at a volume of 252,120 shares.

Sunoco Logistics Partners (NYSE:SXL) is currently trading at $50.22 per share, a 3.4% increase. At 137,939 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.8 times its current daily average.

Alliance Holdings GP (Nasdaq:AHGP) has moved up 2.7% and is currently trading at $51.00 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of 26,064 shares.

After an increase of 2.5%, Calumet Specialty Products Partners (Nasdaq:CLMT) has reached a current price of $32.30. The company's volume for the day so far is 172,252 shares, 0.3 times its average over the past three months.

The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. Paying close attention to the previous ratios will help you identify key times to adjust your strategy. 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.