Energy producer Apache bounced at its 200-day moving average, and the bulls are looking for steady gains.
» Read MoreHave the stock markets bottomed?
J.J. Burns of JJ Burns & Company joined Bill Seidman and Bob Pisani to lay out the facts.
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John Faucher says there's still room for a portfolio to grow in beverages and personal care.
The JPMorgan senior analyst favors companies with significant international exposure -- but he has his reservations about bottlers.
"The highly-profitable convenience- and gas-store volume -- those 20-ounce bottles you see out there -- those are down, because people are spending more money on gas," he told CNBC.
Recommendations:
So what names does he like?
"Right now, we still think some of the bigger, multinational names that are still putting up teens earnings growth -- a Colgate, a Pepsi, a Coke (Coca-Cola) -- the valuations, again, are at 15- to 20-year lows right now, solid dividend yields, good visibility...volatility surrounding some emerging markets, but at these prices, we think it's more than priced in," he said.
Looking for a good stock investment? Jay Bowen of Bowen, Haines & Co. says you should seek out companies that would benefit from falling raw-materials and oil prices.
"Several industries have been faced with rising raw material costs, because of the over 100 percent increase in oil over the last year," Bowen told CNBC. "I think it's a constructive time to ask, 'What industries are going to benefit if that becomes a tailwind instead of a headwind?' The diversified chemical industry would certainly qualify."
Recommendations:
At the top of that list is DuPont.
"They've got their traditional chemical businesses, but also are involved in some very interesting growth areas," he said. "They continue to transform from a traditional chemical company to more of a high-tech science-oriented company; they're involved in agriculture and biotechnology."
He recommends BASF in the diversified chemical space -- and also recommends drug retailer Walgreen because of its historically low valuation.
Options traffic is swirling about possible generic drug merger, auto-related stocks, and a cruise line, Rebecca Darst of Interactive Brokers reported on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Thursday.
Options were active just before reports drifted out of Israel media that there may be a possible $7.5 billion merger between generic drug giants Barr Pharmaceutical , based in New Jersey, and Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical. (See her full comments in the video).
Looking for a big move today in Microsoft stock ahead of its earnings? The options say "Don't count on it."
There's Fast Money ... and Mad Money ... and CRAZY Money.
It would have been hard to miss the 30-plus percent pop in shares of Wells Fargo today—an astonishing rebound that added $22 billion dollars in market value to the beleagured bank. (Yet the jump only left it about where it was trading in mid-June!)
But what might have escaped your probing eyes today were the crazy gains made in the options market; specifically, Wells Fargo Calls.
For example, the July '08 $25.00 contract rose more than 2000 percent going from $0.10 to $2.25 on volume of 37,000 contracts as of this writing.
Further out, the August $27.50s also soared, going from $0.15 to $1.55 for a nice 933% one-day gain!
Same for the October '08 and January '09 strike prices from $25 to $35, which gained anywhere from 100 to 300 percent today.
Crazy money ... if you're crazy enough to chase it.
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More CNBC options chatter:
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If they recommend financial stocks at all, most experts are aiming at the top of the sector, at banks that have managed to escape the subprime meltdown. Formula Capital's James Altucher has been working the other end.
Ask what sector Ed Sheidlower is avoiding, and he'll tell you, "financials," but the Bryce Capital Management portfolio manager does have some sectors -- and some stocks -- he feels are good places for investment dollars.
Cleveland-Cliffs said on Wednesday that it is buying Alpha Natural Resources for $10 billion.
It's another big acquisition in the current trend, with Dow Chemical buying Rohm & Haas and Waste Management merging with Republic Services.
Find out why M&A is hot & heavy -- and will continue to be going forward.
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CNBC Video Reports:
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Gregory Church has two big contrarian plays for investors. One is as good as gold, and the other involves another refining process.
