TradingMarkets 7 Stocks You Need To Know For Friday

Stocks rose Thursday, boosted by good
news from a Dow component, good economic data and excellent retail sales
figures.

Jobless claims for the week of 10/29
fell 8,000 to 323,000.  The 4-week moving average fell 17,000, to
350,500. Q3 productivity rose 4.1%.

Retail same store sales were excellent,
with 73% of companies beating expectations.
Several retailers guided higher today,
including
Abercrombie & Fitch’s
(
ANF |
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, which
reported October same-store-sales that surged 31%, beating estimates by a wide
margin. JC Penney
(
JCP |
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forecast November same store sales in the
low single digits. Talbots also guided higher.

Greenspan told Congress that the economy remains
sturdy and that fallout from the recent hurricanes will be temporary.

Genentech
(
DNA |
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and OSI Pharmaceuticals
(
OSIP |
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said the FDA approved Tarceva in combination with gemcitabine chemotherapy as
a pancreatic cancer treatment.

Prudential
(
PRU |
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beat by 0.30, beat on revenues
and guided higher. Q3 profits more than doubled.

Wal-Mart’s
(
WMT |
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October same-store-sales rose
4.3%, more than expected. The company sees November sales up 3-5%, up from the
previous 2-4%.

Now, here are a few stocks to watch on Friday:

Merck
(
MRK |
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was found not liable in a second
Vioxx trial. The verdict was announced intraday and Merck spiked up sharply on
the news. MRK closed at 29.48, +1.07 on huge volume. In the first trial, Merck
was found liable in the death of a 59-year old patient who took Vioxx.

Starbucks’
(
SBUX |
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same store sales rose 7%, more
than expected. This is a weekly chart.

Noble Energy
(
NBL |
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reports before the open; look
for 1.18.

Fortune Brands
(
FO |
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also reports before the bell;
look for 1.12.

Computer Sciences
(
CSC |
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beat by 0.03 but posted a
lower quarterly profit.

Expedia
(
EXPE |
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beat by 0.04 on better than
expected revenues.

Alkermes
(
ALKS |
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beat by 0.24 and upped their 2006
guidance.

Brice Wightman