TradingMarkets 7 Stocks You Need to Know for Friday

Stocks finished up on Thursday, though off their intraday highs in the case of the S&P 500 and Dow industrials.

The Dow gained 82.97. The Nasdaq Composite was up 25.05 on the day. And the S&P 500 ended higher by 7.10.

Here are 7 Stocks You Need to Know for Friday

Analysts are expecting earnings per share of $0.87 when hip, fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reports earnings Friday morning before the bell.

The EE Times, an electronics industry journal, reported rumors late on Thursday that SanDisk (SNDK | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) may be acquired by Seagate Technologies (STX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating).

General Motors (GM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) was the Dow's biggest gainer on Thursday, adding more than 10% as traders cheered news that the benefits of the automaker's restructuring plan may be realized sooner than expected.

Retailer JC Penny (JCP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) announces quarterly earnings Friday morning before the market opens. Analysts are expecting EPS of $0.50.

Shares of Wachovia (WB | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) were higher by more than 6% on Thursday, retracing all of Wednesday's losses in a broad-based bank-led rally. Washington Mutual (WM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) was up by more than 5%.

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