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 (NYSE: A): Shares of Agilent are currently trading up 5.9% from yesterday's close to $36.54.

2) Ingersoll Rand Public Ltd. (NYSE: IR): Shares of Ingersoll Rand are currently trading up 4.4% from yesterday's close to $30.38.

3) Pall (NYSE: PLL): Shares of Pall are currently trading up 4.3% from yesterday's close to $48.10.

4) Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK): Shares of Rockwell are currently trading up 4.2% from yesterday's close to $64.65.

5) Boeing (NYSE: 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. (NYSE: GT): Shares of Goodyear are currently trading up 9.2% from yesterday's close to $13.73.

2) Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL): Shares of Polo are currently trading up 6% from yesterday's close to $138.35.

3) Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL): Shares of Rubbermaid are currently trading up 5.2% from yesterday's close to $13.45.

4) Brown Forman (NYSE: BFB): Shares of Brown Forman are currently trading up 5% from yesterday's close to $67.55.

5) Harman International (NYSE: 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 (NYSE: CHK): Shares of Chesapeake are currently trading up 3% from yesterday's close to $31.82.

2) Newfield Exploration (NYSE: NFX): Shares of Newfield are currently trading up 2.9% from yesterday's close to $55.28.

3) Chevron (NYSE: CVX): Shares of Chevron are currently trading up 2.9% from yesterday's close to $96.78.

4) Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC): Shares of Marathon are currently trading up 2.7% from yesterday's close to $38.36.

5) Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR): Shares of Nabors are currently trading up 2.4% from yesterday's close to $19.32.