TRW Automotive and Other Big Movers In Consumer Cyclical on November 29, 2012

The market is doing well so far today. The Nasdaq has moved up 0.5%; the S&P 500 has risen 0.5%; and the Dow has increased 0.4%. 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.

Underperforming the market overall, the Consumer Cyclical sector (XLY) is up 0.3%, and these are its current biggest movers:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB)	$852.7 million	-10.1%
Tata Motors Limited (NYSE:TTM)	$2.31 billion	+6.2%
Wacoal Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq:WACLY)	$1.46 billion	+5.2%
Gildan Activewear Inc (NYSE:GIL)	$4.08 billion	+3.5%
Deckers (Nasdaq:DECK)	$1.24 billion	-3.4%
Shutterfly (Nasdaq:SFLY)	$990.7 million	-2.9%
TRW Automotive (NYSE:TRW)	$6.07 billion	+2.8%

Broker Summary: TD Ameritrade Thinkorswim

After a precipitous drop of 10.1%, La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) is now trading at a share price of $14.53. So far today, the company's volume is 984,395 shares. This is 2.7 times the current three-month average.

Tata Motors Limited (NYSE:TTM) has moved up 6.2% and is currently trading at $25.70 per share. At 605,525 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.6 times the average daily volume.

Wacoal Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq:WACLY) is up 5.2% to reach a current price of $54.70 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 1,111 shares.

Gildan Activewear Inc (NYSE:GIL) has risen 3.5% to hit a current price of $34.54 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 790,524 shares, above yesterday's volume of 780,133 shares.

Slipping 3.4%, Deckers (Nasdaq:DECK) is currently trading at $37.96 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 1.3 million shares. This is 0.7 times its average volume over the past three months.

Shutterfly (Nasdaq:SFLY) has fallen 2.9% and is currently trading at $27.30 per share. At 242,383 shares, the company's volume so far today is in line with the current daily average.

After an increase of 2.8%, TRW Automotive (NYSE:TRW) has reached a current price of $51.17. The company is currently trading a volume of 289,231 shares.

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