Southern Among Basic Materials' Biggest Movers on November 6, 2012

After the morning's trading, the Nasdaq has remained steady, the S&P 500 is trading up 0.4% and the Dow is trading up 0.6%. The basic materials sector is the category of stocks that accounts for companies involved with the discovery, development and processing of raw materials. This sector includes the mining and refining of metals, chemical producers and forestry products. The basic materials sector is sensitive to changes in the business cycle. Because the sector supplies materials for construction, it depends on a strong economy. This sector is also sensitive to supply and demand fluctuations because the price of raw materials, such as gold or other metals, is largely demand driven.

The Basic Materials sector (XLB) has climbed 0.6% overall, and these are the biggest movers in the sector so far:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Coeur d\'Alene (NYSE:CDE)	$2.73 billion	-19.9%
Southern (NYSE:SCCO)	$32.55 billion	-9%
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL)	$1.81 billion	-6.3%
Seabridge Gold, Inc (NYSE:SA)	$717 million	-3.8%
Terra Nitrogen Company (NYSE:TNH)	$4.11 billion	+3.5%
Pan American Silver Corp (Nasdaq:PAAS)	$3.26 billion	-2.6%
Tredegar (NYSE:TG)	$629.4 million	-2.2%

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Coeur d'Alene (NYSE:CDE) is at a share price of $24.32 after a sharp decline of 19.9%. The company's volume is currently 4.4 million shares for the day, 2.7 times the current three-month average.

At $35.04, Southern (NYSE:SCCO) has slipped 9%. The company's volume for the day so far is 1.2 million shares.

Falling 6.3%, Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) is currently at a share price of $5.93. So far today, 3.6 million shares have changed hands,.

Seabridge Gold, Inc (NYSE:SA) has decreased to $15.88 per share, a 3.8% fall. This morning, the company's volume is 104,480 shares. This is in line with its current daily average.

Terra Nitrogen Company (NYSE:TNH) has moved up 3.5% and is currently trading at $229.81 per share. At 14,920 shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.6 times its current three-month average.

Currently trading at $20.83 per share, Pan American Silver Corp (Nasdaq:PAAS) has fallen 2.6%. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 803,699 shares.

Tredegar (NYSE:TG) is trading at $19.16 per share, down 2.2%. At 22,428 shares, the company's volume so far today is on pace to finish the day below yesterday's volume of 103,127 shares.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. 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.