Noranda Aluminum Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of vertically integrated aluminum producer Noranda Aluminum (NYS: NOR) are soaring today, rising as much as 11.1% so far on fairly strong volume.

So what: It's a nice bounce back from yesterday's 21% plunge, but not nearly strong enough to erase all the damage done. And no, there isn't any company-specific news to drive either drop or recovery -- just the wild gyrations of a panic-stricken market.

Now what: To a large degree, Noranda's fortunes depend on the construction market, which is very sensitive to interest rates and liquidity issues. So it's not surprising to see Mr. Market overreacting to some bad macroeconomic news, and then breathing a fairly generous sigh of relief when the sky didn't actually fall Monday. If all you wanted out of Noranda was a quiet little basic materials play with decent growth prospects, you might want to switch your gaze to rivalsNucor (NYS: NUE) or Alcoa (NYS: AA) , both of which look cheap today without exposing you so much to heavy construction markets. Plus, both pay serious dividends; Noranda doesn't.

Interested in more info on Noranda Aluminum? Add it to your watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies discussed here. The Motley Fool owns shares of Nucor. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Nucor. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.

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