Polo Ralph Lauren and More Big Movers in Consumer Cyclical on November 23, 2012

The market is on the rise this morning. The Nasdaq has risen 1.3%; the S&P 500 has moved up 1%; and the Dow is trading up 1%. The consumer cyclical sector is a category of stocks that relies heavily on the business cycle and economic conditions. Consumer cyclicals include industries such as automotive, housing, entertainment and retail. The category can be further divided into durable and non-durable sections. Durable cyclicals include physical goods such as hardware or vehicles, while non-durables represent items like movies or hotel services. The performance of consumer cyclicals is highly related to the state of the economy. They represent goods and services that are not considered necessities, but luxurious purchases. During contractions or recessions, people have less disposable income to spend on consumer cyclicals. When the economy is expanding or booming, the sales of these goods rise as retail and leisure spending increase.

The Consumer Cyclical sector (XLY) is up 1%, underperforming the market overall. The biggest movers in the sector are currently:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Fossil (Nasdaq:FOSL)	$5.01 billion	+3.6%
Autoliv (NYSE:ALV)	$5.55 billion	+2.8%
Visteon (NYSE:VC)	$2.6 billion	+2.7%
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc (NYSE:SWK)	$11.82 billion	+1.8%
Polaris Industries (NYSE:PII)	$5.71 billion	+1.8%
Mohawk Industries (NYSE:MHK)	$5.93 billion	+1.7%
Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL)	$14.32 billion	+1.6%

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After rising 3.6%, Fossil (Nasdaq:FOSL) is currently trading at a share price of $86.53. The company is currently trading a volume of 324,550 shares.

Rising 2.8%, Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) is currently trading at $59.75 per share. At 292,979 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.4 times the current daily average.

Visteon (NYSE:VC) has moved up 2.7% and is currently trading at $50.45 per share. The company's volume is currently 66,692 shares. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday.

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc (NYSE:SWK) has increased to a share price of $71.29, a 1.8% rise. So far today, the company's volume is 159,128 shares, 0.1 times its average over the past three months.

Polaris Industries (NYSE:PII) is up 1.8% to reach a current price of $84.19 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 150,962 shares.

Mohawk Industries (NYSE:MHK) is currently trading at $87.33 per share, a 1.7% increase. The company's volume is currently 75,553 shares for the day, 0.1 times the average daily volume.

After rising 1.6%, Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) is currently trading at a share price of $158.98. The company is trading at a volume of 137,448 shares. At this rate, trading activity will likely be down from yesterday when 443,149 shares changed hands.

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. 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.