7 Stocks You Need To Know For Friday

August 4, 2005
TradingMarkets Editors

U.S. stocks where held down through much of the day, under
pressure from disappointing retail results in July. There was also a lack of
buying because traders avoiding heavy commitments ahead of the July
employment report due ahead of Friday’s open.

The S&P 500 closed down 9.18 at 1,236 and the Nasdaq was down
25.49 for a 1.15% loss for the day, closing at 2,191.

On the upside, there was strength in energy stocks today.

Here are 7 stocks that may be of interest to you for your
trading Friday. Keep in mind that these are in no way intended recommendations.
But, as you’ll see, there observations that do merit the attention of short-term
traders.

Home Depot
(
HD |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) pulled back to a 50% retracement of its
5-week uptrend. 50% retracements are widely viewed as levels where pullbacks
tend to consolidate. Moreover, the stock has declined for five consecutive days
and many technically oriented traders would view this as an oversold condition.
Finally, the stock is also coming down to challenge its 50-day moving average.
With these three factors in mind, watch for HD to potentially find support here.

Wal-Mart
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) came in with solid gains today, and while
retailers were mostly down, WMT held above the lows of its five week trading
range which has been in place since the beginning of July. Should the market
open with strength on Friday, you will want to see if WMT participates to the
upside.

Williams Companies
(
WMB |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) held on to its gains into
Thursday’s close on the strength of its earnings and its strong six-week uptrend
remains intact. Today’s close for the stock was near the highs of its intraday
range. Swing traders will want to put this stock on their watchlist and wait for
pullbacks before attempting entries.

Caremark
(
CMX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) gapped higher on earnings news and remained
near its highs for most of the day to close near the top of its intraday range.
Some traders, such as Gary Kaltbaum,
believe that gap-ups like this on earnings news are often the start of longer,
sustained uptrends. You’ll want to watch for CMX to close near
the highs of its day and also follow the stock to see if there follows through
from there over the next few sessions.

Click here to read today comments from Gary.

Comverse
(
CMVT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) at closed down 0.15 settling down at
26.36. It is worth noting that CMVT closed near its highs of the day which is
subtle evidence of strength in the face of today’s weakness in the overall
market. Today is the first down day after six consecutive sessions with gains.
Like the other stocks we are discussing today, traders will want to watch this
stock if the market should turn positive tomorrow. This stock was also discussed
by money manager Jack Rothstein.

Click here to read today’s column from Jack.

Cleco Corporation
(
CNL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) has been trending higher for the
past two months and, in spite of today’s pullback (down .35, closing at 22.65),
the stock has not violated any critical support levels and remains above its 50-
and 200-day moving averages. Today’s close is at a level that was previously a
resistance level that was penetrated on three days ago on 08/02/05. Technical
traders have observed that past resistance levels like this often become new
support levels. Traders will want to watch the action in CNL to see if this play
out over the next few days. Money Manager Jack Rothstein of Tradingmarkets
additional comments today about this stock.

Click here to read them.

Genzyme
(
GENZ |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) closed down near its lows today, breaking
below a five day consolidation. Like CNL, GENZ is sitting right above a previous
resistance level. While there is no way to predict what will happen from here,
technical traders will be watching for GENZ to potentially find support here.
Also bolstering Genzyme’s upside potential is that the stock’s four-week uptrend
remains intact.

Have a great trading day,

Eddie Kwong

Editor-in-Chief

TradingMarkets

7 Stocks You Need To Know For Friday

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