Westpac Banking Corporation and Other Big Movers In Financial on November 13, 2012

The market is doing well so far today. The Nasdaq is up 0.2%; the S&P 500 has climbed 0.6%; and the Dow has moved up 0.5%. 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.

Outperforming the market overall, the Financial sector (XLF) is up 0.5% and its biggest movers so far today are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Apollo Residential Mortgage (NYSE:AMTG)	$509.1 million	-6%
LPL Investment Holdings (Nasdaq:LPLA)	$3.05 billion	-5.7%
Westpac Banking Corporation (NYSE:WBK)	$82.87 billion	-4.3%
Infinity Property and (Nasdaq:IPCC)	$608.6 million	-4.2%
American Capital Mortgage Investment (Nasdaq:MTGE)	$875.7 million	-4%
Alleghany (NYSE:Y)	$5.52 billion	+2.8%
Texas Pacific (NYSE:TPL)	$513.4 million	-2.5%

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Apollo Residential Mortgage (NYSE:AMTG) is currently trading at a share price of $19.78, a 6% decline. So far today, the company's volume is 570,378 shares, 1.2 times the current daily average.

LPL Investment Holdings (Nasdaq:LPLA) is down 5.7% to reach $26.50 per share. The company is trading at a volume of 1.4 million shares. This is more trading activity than there was yesterday.

After a decline of 4.3%, Westpac Banking Corporation (NYSE:WBK) has hit a share price of $130.38. The company's volume is currently 15,713 shares for the day, 0.8 times the current three-month average.

Infinity Property and (Nasdaq:IPCC) has fallen 4.2% and is currently trading at $49.96 per share. So far today, 58,816 shares have changed hands.

American Capital Mortgage Investment (Nasdaq:MTGE) has decreased to $23.19 per share, a 4% fall. The company's volume is currently 779,367 shares for the day, 1.1 times its current daily average.

After an increase of 2.8%, Alleghany (NYSE:Y) has reached a current price of $334.72. The company's volume is currently 15,879 shares.

Currently trading at $56.27 per share, Texas Pacific (NYSE:TPL) has fallen 2.5%. At 3,900 shares, the company's volume so far today is consistent with its average over the last three months.

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. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.