PNC Financial and Other Big Movers In Financial on October 12, 2012

This morning's trading has marked a bad day for the market so far. The Nasdaq has decreased 0.2%; the S&P 500 is trading down 0.4%; and the Dow has slipped 0.2%. The financial sector is the category of stocks containing firms that provide financial services to commercial and retail customers. This sector includes banks, investment funds, insurance companies and real estate. Financial services perform best in low interest rate environments. A large portion of this sector generates revenue from mortgages and loans, which gain value as interest rates drop. Furthermore, when the business cycle is in an upswing, the financial sector benefits from additional investments. Improved economic conditions usually lead to more capital projects and increased personal investing. New projects require financing, which usually leads to a larger number of loans.

The Financial sector (XLF) is currently lagging behind the overall market, down 1.4%, and its current biggest movers are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Bank Of The Ozarks (Nasdaq:OZRK)	$1.18 billion	-4%
PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC)	$34.38 billion	-3.5%
City (NYSE:CYN)	$2.76 billion	-3.2%
Credit (Nasdaq:CACC)	$2.06 billion	+2.5%
Progressive (NYSE:PGR)	$13.44 billion	+2.5%
Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR)	$3.52 billion	-2.4%
M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB)	$12.46 billion	-2.3%

Broker Summary: Charles Schwab Online Brokerage

Bank Of The Ozarks (Nasdaq:OZRK) is trading at $32.75 per share, down 4%. The company's volume for the day so far is 134,593 shares.

PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC) is down 3.5% to reach $62.68 per share. At 1.4 million shares, the company's volume so far today is in keeping with its current daily average.

City (NYSE:CYN) is currently trading at a share price of $49.90, a 3.2% decline. So far today, 87,859 shares of the company's stock have changed hands. This is on pace to reach yesterday's trading volume of 159,157 shares.

Credit (Nasdaq:CACC) has risen 2.5% and is currently trading at $86.24 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 7,528 shares, 0.3 times the average volume over the last three months.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) has risen 2.5% and is currently trading at $22.61 per share. The company is currently trading a volume of three million shares.

Slipping 2.4%, Cullen/Frost Bankers (NYSE:CFR) is currently trading at $55.91 per share. The company's volume is currently 75,891 shares for the day, 0.3 times the current daily average.

After a decline of 2.3%, M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) has hit a share price of $96.08. So far today, the company's volume is 399,853 shares.

The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. 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.