Visa and Other Big Movers In Financial on October 9, 2012

The market is having a bad day so far. The Nasdaq has declined 1.7%; the S&P 500 is trading down 0.8%; and the Dow has fallen 0.7%. 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) is currently ahead of the overall market, down only 0.6%, and its biggest movers are currently:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
A.F.P Provida SA (NYSE:PVD)	$2.25 billion	+6.9%
Infinity Property and (Nasdaq:IPCC)	$708.8 million	-2.3%
MasterCard (NYSE:MA)	$56.48 billion	-2%
SunTrust (NYSE:STI)	$16.03 billion	+1.5%
Altisource Portfolio Solutions (Nasdaq:ASPS)	$2.61 billion	-1.4%
Visa (NYSE:V)	$112.52 billion	-1.3%
Credicorp Ltd (NYSE:BAP)	$10.21 billion	-1.2%

Broker Summary: Charles Schwab Online Brokerage

A.F.P Provida SA (NYSE:PVD) has moved up 6.9% and is currently trading at $108.80 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 75,092 shares. This is greater than yesterday's volume of 10,184 shares. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price.

Slipping 2.3%, Infinity Property and (Nasdaq:IPCC) is currently trading at $59.14 per share. At 6,000 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.2 times the average daily volume. If a stock is trading on low volume, then there is not much interest in the stock. On the other hand, if a stock is trading on high volume, then there is a lot of interest in the stock.

At $462.72, MasterCard (NYSE:MA) has slipped 2%. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 340,360 shares. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is.

Increasing 1.5%, SunTrust (NYSE:STI) is trading at $30.20 per share. So far today, the company's volume is 3.7 million shares, 0.6 times its current three-month average. As a stock moves up or down, it is important to pay attention to the trading volume. This indicates the level of interest: the higher the volume, the more the interest.

Altisource Portfolio Solutions (Nasdaq:ASPS) is trading at $110.20 per share, down 1.4%. The company is trading at a volume of 37,458 shares. This is on pace to fall short of yesterday's volume of 188,847 shares. The trading volume for a stock indicates the level of investor interest.

Currently trading at $136.92 per share, Visa (NYSE:V) has fallen 1.3%. At 732,303 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.3 times the average daily volume. Volume is used to evaluate how meaningful the price movement of a stock is.

Credicorp Ltd (NYSE:BAP) has decreased to $126.37 per share, a 1.2% fall. The company's volume for the day so far is 77,611 shares. In technical analysis, trading volume is used to determine the strength of a market indicator.

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. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.