McCormick's MKC Climbs 1.40% on $220M Volume Surge Ranks 442nd in Market Activity

McCormick (MKC) closed 1.40% higher on September 24, 2025, with a trading volume of $0.22 billion, ranking 442nd in market activity for the day. The stock’s performance reflected a mix of sector-specific dynamics and broader market sentiment, though no direct earnings or strategic announcements were disclosed during the session.

Recent news impacting MKC centered on evolving consumer preferences in the global spice and seasoning market. Analysts noted increased demand for premium flavor solutions amid shifting dietary trends, which could position the company to benefit from long-term growth opportunities. However, macroeconomic uncertainties, including inflationary pressures on raw material costs, remain a near-term headwind for profit margins.

To run this back-test accurately I need to pin down a few practical details that will affect the signal construction and performance calculation: 1. Stock universe • Do you want every U.S. listed common stock (NYSE + NASDAQ + AMEX), or would you prefer a defined universe such as the S&P 500 / Russell 3000 / a custom list? 2. Ranking time-stamp versus execution price • Should the “top-500‐by-volume” list be built with the same-day (t-0) volume and the trade executed at that day’s close, or should we use yesterday’s (t-1) volume and enter at today’s open? (The latter avoids look-ahead bias.) 3. Entry/exit price convention • Open-to-close, Close-to-close, or open-to-open? (Typical intraday swing with one-day holding period is “buy at today’s open, sell at tomorrow’s open” or “buy at today’s close, sell at tomorrow’s close”.) 4. Transaction costs / slippage • Should we include an estimate per trade (e.g., 2 bps per side) or ignore costs? With those points clarified I can (a) build the daily top-500 basket, (b) create the trade signals file, and (c) run the strategy back-test from 2022-01-03 to the present.