Dividend.com: Midday Playbook

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on the Fed's game plan to revive the economy are not providing its usual lift to the markets. Stocks are beginning to lag a bit after an early uptick. Let's take a look at some potential opportunities.

Bullish

Earnings Winners - Legg Mason(LM Quote), UnitedHealth Group(UNH Quote), Merck(MRK Quote), Caterpillar(CAT Quote), TD Ameritrade(AMTD Quote) and Freeport McMoran(FCX Quote).

Keep your eye especially on CAT to monitor if it can sustain its spike the morning. Eaton Corp(ETN Quote) worked as a gauge in a similar situation Monday.

Analyst Upgrades - International Paper(IP Quote) and Expedia(EXPE Quote) are holding on to early gains.

Treasuries(TLT Quote) - As the markets begin to see some red, bonds are looking strong.

Monsanto(MON Quote) is an early winner in today's action.

Bearish

Earnings Losers - Continental Airlines(CAL Quote), Zions Bancorp(ZION Quote), Texas Instruments(TXN Quote), Lexmark(LXK Quote), United Technologies(UTX Quote), Quest Diagnostics(DGX Quote), Western Union(WU Quote), Comerica(CMA Quote), Hudson City Bancorp(HCBK Quote), Peabody Energy(BTU Quote), State Street(STT Quote), Lockheed Martin(LMT Quote), Coca Cola(KO Quote), Southwest Airlines(LUV Quote), AK Steel(AKS Quote), Sherwin Williams(SHW Quote), and Blackrock(BLK Quote) are all lower after posting this morning's results.

Downgrade Losers - BB&T(BBT Quote), Regency Centers(REG Quote), and Anadarko Petroleum(APC Quote) are all seeing red after this morning's analyst moves.

Transports - Another warning from trucking play Werner Enterprises(WERN Quote) is pulling down this key sector.

What's the Trade?

As I wrote earlier today in the morning post, there are several names I would watch from this morning's earnings reports. Keep checking to see if Caterpillar's early stock strength begins to fade.

I also would watch some of this morning's financials that reported (STT, ZION, RF, CMA, BLK). The weakness in those shares are pointing to see some potential selling later today.

Also look at the ultrashort play SKF as a long idea to take advantage of, but I wouldn't want to hold it too long. I would make a quick register-ringing play on any rapid spikes higher.