BALTIMORE ( Stockpickr) -- Sure enough, data is the name of the game this week. With big-name earnings going full blast for the next month or so, investors are finally getting a good gauge of how businesses actually performed in the last quarter.
It's about time, too. Stocks have rallied hard in the last couple of months, and without the fundamental support for those seemingly inflated levels, stocks would otherwise be facing trouble. Rest easy for now: Following a few key releases, first-quarter 2010's early numbers look overwhelmingly positive. But while Wall Street focuses on the fundamentals, we're eschewing those numbers in favor of short-term technicals. Technical analysis is a way for investors to quantify qualitative factors, such as investor psychology, based on a stock's chart patterns and trends. Once the domain of cloistered trading teams on Wall Street, technicals can help top traders make consistently profitable trades and can aid fundamental investors in better planning their stock execution. That's why, every week, Stockpickr takes a look at stocks that could be staging a technical move soon and compiles a portfolio of promising Technical Setups. Here's a look at this week's potential trades. While the increasingly competitive search engine business has proved challenging for Yahoo! ( YHOO) in the past few years, the $26 billion company continues to hang in there. Investors would do well to pay extra attention this week; earnings could prove to be the perfect spark for a bounce off of a key support level.
Telco giant Verizon ( VZ) also announces numbers this week, and in the case of the nation's biggest cellular provider, a potentially bearish technical pattern is in the wings. Unless the company can make a significant impact on Wall Street, a sharp sell-off could be in store.
Though Konami ( KNM) may be best-known for games, its shares have been anything but fun lately, falling hard following an underwhelming earnings release. But while most sellers were happy to get out at discounted levels last week, traders could be piling on this week thanks to a bullish switchover.
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