Vulcan Materials and Other Capital Goods Stocks Making Big Moves on October 8, 2012

The market is currently down, with the Nasdaq declining 1%, the S&P 500 slipping 0.5% and the Dow falling 0.3%. The capital goods sector is the category of stocks related to the manufacture or distribution of goods. The sector is diverse, containing companies that manufacture machinery used to create capital goods, electrical equipment, aerospace and defense, engineering and construction projects. It is also referred to as the "industrials sector". Performance in the capital goods sector is sensitive to fluctuations in the business cycle. Because it relies heavily on manufacturing, the sector does well when the economy is booming or expanding. As economic conditions worsen, the demand for capital goods drops off, usually lowering the prices of stocks in the sector.

The Capital Goods sector (XLI) is down 0.3%, outperforming the market overall. Currently, the biggest movers in the sector are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK)	$530.1 million	+3.8%
Sauer-Danfoss (NYSE:SHS)	$2.02 billion	-2%
MasTec (NYSE:MTZ)	$1.6 billion	+1.8%
Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC)	$6.24 billion	-1.8%
Thor Industries (NYSE:THO)	$1.94 billion	-1.7%
Triumph Group (NYSE:TGI)	$3.19 billion	-1.7%
Sodastream (Nasdaq:SODA)	$743 million	+1.6%

Broker Summary: Charles Schwab Online Brokerage

National Presto Industries (NYSE:NPK) is at $79.93 per share after an increase of 3.8%. The company's volume for the day so far is 10,510 shares, consistent with its average over the last three months. If a stock price makes a big move up or down, volume lets us know the significance of that move.

Currently trading at $40.81 per share, Sauer-Danfoss (NYSE:SHS) has fallen 2%. The company is currently trading a volume of 29,861 shares. If a stock price moves on high volume, this means that the change is a significant one.

MasTec (NYSE:MTZ) has risen 1.8% and is currently trading at $21.49 per share. At 259,894 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.3 times the average daily volume. 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.

Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) is trading at $47.36 per share, down 1.8%. So far today, 94,953 shares of the company's stock have changed hands. This is a sign that there will be less trading activity than there was yesterday. 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.

Thor Industries (NYSE:THO) is down 1.7% to reach $36.08 per share. The company's volume is currently 174,706 shares for the day, 0.2 times its current three-month average. Volume indicates the level of interest that investors have in a company at its current price.

At $62.80, Triumph Group (NYSE:TGI) has slipped 1.7%. So far today, the company's volume is 66,947 shares. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement.

Sodastream (Nasdaq:SODA) has risen 1.6% to hit a current price of $37.47 per share. At 215,036 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.4 times the average daily volume. Volume is an important indicator because it indicates how significant a price shift is.

The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. It is important to weigh current activity against historical performance when making any investment decisions. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.