Travelers and Other Big Movers In Financial on October 18, 2012

So far today, the Nasdaq is trading down 0.3%, the S&P 500 remains relatively unchanged and the Dow is trading up 0.1%. 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) has moved up 0.3% overall, and these are the biggest movers in the sector so far:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA)	$4.42 billion	-8.4%
Greenhill & Co (NYSE:GHL)	$1.47 billion	-7.4%
Platinum Underwriters (NYSE:PTP)	$1.44 billion	+5.7%
BB&T (NYSE:BBT)	$22.56 billion	-4.8%
Travelers (NYSE:TRV)	$27.51 billion	+3.9%
Alliance Data (NYSE:ADS)	$6.93 billion	+3%
RLI (NYSE:RLI)	$1.47 billion	+3%

Broker Summary: E-Trade Financial

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA) has fallen 8.4% and is currently trading at $54.98 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 985,021 shares, 3.7 times its average over the past three months.

At $47.28, Greenhill & Co (NYSE:GHL) has slipped 7.4%. So far today, the company's volume is 402,642 shares.

Platinum Underwriters (NYSE:PTP) is currently trading at $45.76 per share, a 5.7% increase. The company's volume is currently 215,429 shares for the day, 1.9 times the current daily average.

Falling 4.8%, BB&T (NYSE:BBT) is currently at a share price of $30.71. The company's volume for the day so far is 6.9 million shares. Yesterday, volume was only 4.3 million shares.

After rising 3.9%, Travelers (NYSE:TRV) is currently trading at a share price of $74.13. With 2.7 million shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 1.4 times the average volume over the last three months.

Alliance Data (NYSE:ADS) has moved up 3% and is currently trading at $143.01 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 844,057 shares.

RLI (NYSE:RLI) has increased to a share price of $71.33, a 3% rise. So far today, the company's volume is 24,890 shares, in line with the current daily average.

The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. Paying close attention to the previous ratios will help you identify key times to adjust your strategy. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.