Stock Futures Point to a Strong Rebound. Stocks to Watch: AAPL, GOOG, HAL, INTC, TXN, and SLE

Published on Monday, 25 January 2010 08:26 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, Jan 25^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Wall Street was poised for a strong rebound, as stock futures were pointing higher. Investors seem to think the moved was overdone, as stocks had their worst week since last March.

There were mounting opposition to Ben Bernanke confirmation as the Federal Reserve chairman; however according to minority Leader Mitch McConnell Bernanke will likely get enough votes to be confirmed. Uncertainty about the confirmation was spurred after some Democratic Senators said last week they might block him.

At 10:00 AM, the National Association of Realtors reports its existing home sales for December. Sales likely fell 11.6% in December, compared to a 7.4% rise in November.

Today Stocks to watch: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN), and Sara Lee Corp (NYSE:SLE).

Shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) were hit last week, as investor jitters on economic growth impacted the high flying stock. Apple stock fell more than 10 points on Friday alone as stocks had their worst day since last October. The maker of iPods and iPhones will be reporting its quarterly earnings after the closing bell. Consensus calls for a profit of $2.07 per share on $12.05 billion revenue, with the low estimate calling for a profit of $1.71 per share on $$11.21 billion revenue. Additionally, Apple will be unveiling its long awaited tablet PC on Wednesday. The stock has a history of selling before any new product unveiling, with investors bidding the stock higher afterwards; we will have to wait to see if history will repeat.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) sold off sharply last week, after earnings disappointed investors. This week the stock may continue under pressure as the search engine leader and pay per click giant disclosed founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin plan to sell five million Google shares each over the next five years. The sales would bring the founders’ combined voting rights to just below 50%.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) reported that its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 48% as weaker oil and gas prices impacted demand for its services. The oil field service company says it expects 2010 to be a transitional year for the industry. The Houston based company reported net income of $0.27 cents per share. Revenue fell 25% to $3.69 billion. Shares of Halliburton took a hit last week as they sold off more than 8%, just in Friday the stock lost more than 4% as concerns over industry margins mounted, after Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) earnings disappointed investors due to its weaker margins.

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) shares might receive a boost from a Barron’s article. Over the weekend the respected financial publication said that Intel may rise at least 25% during the next few years as consumers and businesses start a new replacement cycle for their older computers to replace them with new machines with expanded capability.

Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) will be reporting quarterly earnings after the market close. The semiconductor company shares were under pressure last week as concerns over global growth, specifically in China, and earnings disappointment hit the semiconductor industry. On Friday alone, Texas Instruments lost 4.43%. Analysts expect on average for the company to report a profit of $0.49 per share on revenue of $2.98 billion.

Shares of Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE) may receive a boost from a Barron’s Article. Over the weekend Barron’s said that the food maker and may rise as much as 40% during the next year as its push into healthier products attracts consumers and higher earnings make it a potential takeover target.