TOTAL S.A and Other Big Movers In Energy on December 7, 2012

After the morning's trading, the Nasdaq is down 0.7%, the S&P 500 remains relatively unchanged and the Dow is trading up 0.3%. 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 Energy sector (XLE) has risen 0.2% so far today and here are its biggest movers:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
QR (NYSE:QRE)	$754 million	-5.1%
Approach Resources (Nasdaq:AREX)	$891.8 million	+3.3%
Plains Exploration & Production (NYSE:PXP)	$5.57 billion	+2.8%
Gulfport (Nasdaq:GPOR)	$2.12 billion	-2.6%
Noble (NYSE:NE)	$8.98 billion	-2%
Anadarko (NYSE:APC)	$37.16 billion	+2%
TOTAL S.A (NYSE:TOT)	$113.54 billion	-1.7%

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At $16.05, QR (NYSE:QRE) has slipped 5.1%. At 4.3 million shares, the company's volume so far today is 18.2 times the average volume over the last three months.

Approach Resources (Nasdaq:AREX) is at $23.90 per share after an increase of 3.3%. The company's volume for the day so far is 102,801 shares. This is 0.2 times the current daily average.

Plains Exploration & Production (NYSE:PXP) has risen 2.8% and is currently trading at $44.41 per share. So far today, 8.4 million shares have changed hands, while it was 21.4 million shares yesterday.

Currently trading at $37.09 per share, Gulfport (Nasdaq:GPOR) has fallen 2.6%. The company is currently trading a volume of 846,781 shares.

Falling 2%, Noble (NYSE:NE) is currently at a share price of $34.84. So far today, the company's volume is 1.8 million shares, consistent with its current three-month average.

Rising 2%, Anadarko (NYSE:APC) is currently trading at $75.81 per share. So far this morning, 1.2 million shares have changed hands. This is 0.4 times its average daily volume.

TOTAL S.A (NYSE:TOT) is down 1.7% to reach $49.47 per share. This morning, 875,281 shares have been traded,.

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.