Industrials, Oil & Gas, and Consumer Goods Lead Market Rally

Major U.S. Indexes are building upon yesterday's gains, on the heels of a 0.5% increase in retail sales – the biggest gain since March. August Consumer sentiment, however, plunged from 63.7 in July to 54.9 – its lowest level since May of 1980. The market seems to be shrugging off the consumer sentiment number, as the S&P 500 is currently up 9 points (0.8%) to 1,181. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is posting a 132 point gain (1.2%) to 11,275, while the NASDAQ, which is the “weakest” area of the market, is currently up 19 points (0.8%) to 2,511. Keep a close eye on the NASDAQ throughout the afternoon session. The early relative weakness may serve as an indicator of a late session rollover. Today's rally is being led by the Industrials, Oil & Gas, and Consumer Goods sectors, which are currently up 1.9%, 1.5%, and 1.4% respectively. The strongest stocks in the S&P 500 Industrials sector in today's action currently are: 1) Agilent Technologies A: Shares of Agilent are currently trading up 5.9% from yesterday's close to $36.54. 2) Ingersoll Rand Public Ltd. IR: Shares of Ingersoll Rand are currently trading up 4.4% from yesterday's close to $30.38. 3) Pall PLL: Shares of Pall are currently trading up 4.3% from yesterday's close to $48.10. 4) Rockwell Automation ROK: Shares of Rockwell are currently trading up 4.2% from yesterday's close to $64.65. 5) Boeing BA: Shares of Boeing are currently trading up 4.1% from yesterday's close to $61.65. The strongest stocks in the S&P 500 Consumer Goods Sector in today's action currently are: 1) The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. GT: Shares of Goodyear are currently trading up 9.2% from yesterday's close to $13.73. 2) Polo Ralph Lauren RL: Shares of Polo are currently trading up 6% from yesterday's close to $138.35. 3) Newell Rubbermaid NWL: Shares of Rubbermaid are currently trading up 5.2% from yesterday's close to $13.45. 4) Brown Forman BFB: Shares of Brown Forman are currently trading up 5% from yesterday's close to $67.55. 5) Harman International HAR: Shares of Harman are currently trading up 5.7% from yesterday's close to $33.48. The strongest performing stocks in the S&P 500 Oil & Gas sector in today's action currently are: 1) Chesapeake Energy CHK: Shares of Chesapeake are currently trading up 3% from yesterday's close to $31.82. 2) Newfield Exploration NFX: Shares of Newfield are currently trading up 2.9% from yesterday's close to $55.28. 3) Chevron CVX: Shares of Chevron are currently trading up 2.9% from yesterday's close to $96.78. 4) Marathon Petroleum MPC: Shares of Marathon are currently trading up 2.7% from yesterday's close to $38.36. 5) Nabors Industries NBR: Shares of Nabors are currently trading up 2.4% from yesterday's close to $19.32.