Earnings season is upon us, and we’ll soon see how bad the damage was to corporate earnings in the fourth quarter.  What do the professional traders of TraderInsight.com think?

Here’s the list of 7 stocks our professional traders will be watching this week:

Polo Ralph Lauren (RL), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Tiffany & Co (TIF), Computer Science Corp. (CSC), Accenture (ACN), Fiserv (FISV), Affiliated Computer Services (ACS)
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Today and tomorrow, new customers can join Adrian Manz's Around the Horn Intraday Trading Plan for only $19.50.  That's 90% off the $195 monthly membership rate.  But hurry, this special offer expires on Monday, January 12, 2009.  Use the special PROMOTION CODE "baseball2" upon checkout.

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Adrian Manz, Stock Day Trader

Weak economic news and earnings releases are beginning to take their toll on the 2009 market, as the obligatory upturn on the change of the calendar has given way to a realistic assessment of the state of the economy.  The bright news for investors is that the reactions to bad news continue to be less extreme than one might expect.  The Dow Jones Industrials have managed to stay in the upper 50% of the 3-month trading range that has defined the limits of price action and, as long as the bad news hits when the index is trading at the upper boundary, it seems that a break through the lows and a retest of 8,150 will be unlikely.  Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has managed to stay above the crucial 888 support level even in the face of turmoil and extreme volatility in the financials.

The coming week looks to be a good one for stock traders, as the volatility index is again above 40, and sensitive stocks, like those in the retail sector (RLX.X) look ready for large intraday trading ranges.  I will watch Polo Ralph Lauren (RL), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Tiffany & Co (TIF) for opportunities early this week, as the store sales number on Monday should have all the favorites moving.
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Tom Incorvia, Stock Swing Trader

All three of the broader averages were in the red last week.  The big punch in the gut for the market was the Friday employment numbers.  With unemployment rates at the highest level in nearly 16 year, concerns of corporate profits are starting to weigh on the markets.  On Friday, the bears took the lead and never gave up control.  The sub-sectors showed a possible silver lining to the bleak market performance.  Of the 239 sub-sectors, 154 had a positive week, and technology stocks were at the top the list.

This week’s interest will once again be focused on the U.S. economy as the Produce Price Index (PPI) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be released late in the week.  There may be some earnings warnings coming from some significant companies, which may bring some swift swings in the markets.

One of the areas I will be focusing on if there is any strength in the market is the Data Processing sub-sector.  The Data Processors sub-sector has had a nice rally off its lows in November.  I’m going to watch the group for further institutional buying.  Specifically, companies like Computer Science Corp. (CSC), Accenture (ACN), Fiserv (FISV) and Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) will have the best opportunities for gains.
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90% Off the First Month

Today and tomorrow, new customers can join Adrian Manz's Around the Horn Intraday Trading Plan for only $19.50.  That's 90% off the $195 monthly membership rate.  But hurry, this special offer expires on Monday, January 12, 2009.  Use the special PROMOTION CODE "baseball2" upon checkout.

Art Collins, Index Futures Trader

My most "according-to-Hoyle" anticipated scenario for the stock markets remains the following.  We'll continue to see strength up until the inauguration.  Volatility is suddenly at or near its lowest level since the September 2007 start of the financial crisis.  S&P daily ranges are now routinely under 20 points.  On Thursday, they were under 15.  Such a lessening is not something you expect to see as traders have come back in force for the new year.

Also note how down days, such as Friday, are now treated as routine rather than catalysts for further down-drafts.  For the most part, we're seeing days where down action doesn't follow through at all.  I expect the shallow bottoms will more or less continue up until January 20.  Will that day see the Obama exuberance reverse itself?  It would make for a classic "buy-the-rumor, sell-the-fact" scenario.  If it doesn't play out so perfectly, I'd still expect resumed major down action through the last two weeks of the month.

Dave Mecklenburg is the Editor-in-Chief of TigerSharkTrading.com.