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Our research shows that steel has been quietly moving up the ranks in terms of performance. The major steel indexes — SIG Steel Producers Index, AMEX Steel Index, and DJ Wilshire U.S. Steel Index — are all up nearly ten percent since January 2008.

So of course, it was interesting to read an article on February 25 with the title “Will Steel Futures Catch On?”. WSJ reported that “The London Metal Exchange is launching a steel-futures contract today, aimed at giving producers, suppliers and consumers a means to hedge costs amid a shift toward more-volatile steel prices.”

A market sentiment check of recent news reveals some newfound love for the steel sector:

• BlueScope’s Bright Future 2-25-08
  Shares of BlueScope Steel rose even after it reported a 70% decline in H1 profits. CNBC’s Oriel Morrison talks to its CEO, Paul O’Malley, about the challenges and opportunities in the year ahead.
• Mittal Raises Steel Prices 2-21-08
  Shares in ArcelorMittal were higher Thursday as the steel maker raised flat steel prices. Raphael Del Sarte, Co CEO of Global Equities has analysis.
• ArcelorMittal CFO Bullish on 2008 2-13-08
  Aditya Mittal, president and CFO of ArcelorMittal, sees strong demand for steel continuing throughout 2008, boosting the outlook for the world’s largest steel maker.
• Steel Fortune 1-11-08
  China’s miraculous growth in the steel market, with Usha Haley, University of New Haven professor and CNBC’s Becky Quick

Let’s take a close look at some of the big market cap steel companies that are part of the Market Vectors Steel ETF (AMEX:SLX). We applied InVivo.Stops for TradeStation 8.x to the daily chart along with the widely-watched 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Our InVivo.RMI paintbar study quickly identifies performance.

Market Vectors - Steel ETF (AMEX:SLX)

ArcelorMittal (ADR) (NYSE:MT)

Wall Street firms still have a rating of 1.70 on MT which, Reuters equates to an “Outperform“.

Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (ADR) (NYSE:SID)

Wall Street firms still have a rating of 3.00 on SID which, Reuters equates to an “Hold“.

Gerdau SA (ADR) (NYSE:GGB)

Wall Street firms still have a rating of 2.00 on GGB which, Reuters equates to an “Outperform“.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)

Wall Street firms still have a rating of 1.77 on NUE which, Reuters equates to an “Outperform“.

Mechel OAO (ADR) (NYSE:MTL)

Wall Street firms still have a rating of 2.00 on MTL which, Reuters equates to an “Outperform“.

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X)

Wall Street firms still have a rating of 2.07 on X which, Reuters equates to an “Outperform“.

Our charts indicate recent strength. We will track the sentiment cycle as price action unfolds, paying special attention to what the financial media reports next. We will also monitor analysts to see if they start upgrading the sector and its constituent stocks.

As always, keep risk management in mind and trade accordingly.

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