Posted December 17, 2020
By Scott Stewart
Stimulus Frenzy
Welcome to Rude Awakening for Thursday, December 17, 2020.
This morning, markets opened strong, and the major indices are all still showing strength as the trading day is getting started.
Lots of activity in todays marketplace, with lots of anticipation and expectation over the stimulus deal powering us into the weekend.
Its looking like there will be an agreement anytime now.
Strong Markets Power 4 Stocks
With markets moving higher, there are four different stocks I want to show you today, all reporting earnings this evening after the closing bell, or before the opening bell tomorrow morning.
Each of these should be added to your watchlist:
- Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI)
- Winnebago Industries, Inc. (WGO)
- BlackBerry Limited (BB)
- FedEx Corporation (FDX)
Scott StewartEditor, Rude Awakening

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