Utilities Stocks, Including Korea Electric Power Corporation, Making Big Moves on October 15, 2012

It's been a good morning for the market. The Nasdaq is up 0.3%; the S&P 500 has risen 0.3%; and the Dow is up 0.3%. The utilities sector is a category of stocks for utilities such as gas and power. It contains companies such as electric, gas and water firms and integrated providers. Because utilities require significant infrastructure, these firms often carry large amounts of debt. With a high debt load, utilities companies become sensitive to changes in the interest rate. As interest rates rise or drop, the debt payments will increase or decrease. The utilities sector performs best when interest rates are falling or remain low.

Underperforming the market overall, the Utilities sector (XLU) is up 0.1%, and these are its current biggest movers:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP)	$15.23 billion	+2.5%
Companhia de Saneamento Basico (NYSE:SBS)	$9.8 billion	-2.5%
Atlas (NYSE:ATLS)	$1.83 billion	-2%
Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA)	$865.5 million	+1.9%
National Fuel (NYSE:NFG)	$4.24 billion	+1.1%
Markwest Energy (NYSE:MWE)	$7.58 billion	-1%
UIL (NYSE:UIL)	$1.81 billion	+0.9%

Software Summary: Finviz.com Stock Screener

After an increase of 2.5%, Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) has reached a current price of $12.16. So far today, the company's volume is 141,254 shares, 0.3 times the average daily volume.

Companhia de Saneamento Basico (NYSE:SBS) is currently trading at a share price of $83.90, a 2.5% decline. The company's volume for the day so far is 211,785 shares.

Atlas (NYSE:ATLS) has decreased to $34.97 per share, a 2% fall. With 210,487 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 1.3 times its average over the past three months.

After rising 1.9%, Ormat Technologies (NYSE:ORA) is currently trading at a share price of $19.42. The company's volume for the day so far is 6,183 shares. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday.

National Fuel (NYSE:NFG) has risen 1.1% to hit a current price of $51.41 per share. The company's volume is currently 123,424 shares for the day, 0.4 times its current daily average.

Markwest Energy (NYSE:MWE) is trading at $54.90 per share, down 1%. So far today, the company's volume is 92,014 shares.

Rising 0.9%, UIL (NYSE:UIL) is currently trading at $36.11 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 35,302 shares, 0.2 times the current three-month average.

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