Investors breathed a sigh of relief on Friday as they learned that Congressional regulations for financial institutions will not include measures that would severely limit banks’ profits. Although some modest gains were made by bank stocks, at the close of the stock market on Friday, the Dow had lost 9 points. The S&P 500 had gained 3 points, and the Nasdaq had gained 6 points. For the week, the Dow fell 2.9 percent, the S&P 500 fell 3.6 percent, and the Nasdaq fell 3.7 percent.

The high rate of unemployment and failure to create jobs, consumers with little money or desire to spend, and dismal news about the housing market continue to weigh down investors’ willingness to take on risk. The upcoming week’s economic reports are not likely to quell investor anxiety.

On Tuesday, the Confidence Board will release its index of consumer confidence for June, which is expected to have fallen to 63.0 from the May figure of 63.3.

On Thursday, a report on the number of pending home sales for May is forecast to have dropped by 12.5 percent. In April, pending sales increased by 6 percent, but tax incentives were still available to home buyers. Also Thursday, initial claims for unemployment insurance are thought to have declined by several thousand since last week, but the unemployment rate will advance slightly to 9.8 percent.

On Friday the non-farm payrolls report is expected to show a loss of 110,000 jobs during the month of June. During the month, the U.S. government dismissed about half of the workers hired temporarily to work for the Census Bureau. The Department of Commerce will release its May factory orders report, and analysts are expecting a decrease of a fraction of one percent, compared to the April figure, which showed a 1.2 percent gain.

Stocks to Watch

We're watching 10 stocks for continued strength during the week.

The Cooper Companies, Inc. (COO)
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD)
Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. (ETP)
Gardner Denver, Inc. (GDI)
Hospira, Inc. (HSP)
Moody's Corporation (MCO)
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (PAA)
Protective Life Corp. (PL)
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. (SKT)
Sunoco, Inc. (SUN)

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