AOL Money & Finance

An analysis of selected WSJ defensive plays

More

Yesterday's WSJ's "Heard On The Street" column (subscription required) has published examples of recession-resistant stocks, in order to better-prepare individual investors for a potential additional downturn in the U.S. economy.

We took it a step further. What follows is a more panoramic view of each stock, including chart analysis.

AT&T (NYSE: T): the telecom giant has become a growth company. T's chart is healthy with the stock recently broken out to $42.50.


Citigroup (NYSE: C): The diversified retail/investment banking giant still must do more to cut costs. Technically, C may have formed a bottom, but investors should consider waiting until C trades continually above $48 - above its 50-day moving average - before purchasing shares.

Diageo (NYSE: DEO), A well-positioned distiller/beverage company, DEO's chart is solid, but investors should consider waiting for DEO to clear resistance at $88 before purchasing shares.

Genentech (NYSE: DNA): Analysts project solid earnings growth for DNA, and the stock appears to have bottomed around $71 about a month ago.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) Has kept costs under control while benefiting from oil's elevated price and the barely-adequate refinery infrastructure in the U.S. HES's chart is solid with the stock hitting a high for 2007 above $69 in the last few weeks.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Will continue to benefit from large U.S. Department of Defense contract work. Meanwhile, LMT's chart recently broke out of $93-$98 trading range, trading once again above $100.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) Has the products and resources to weather any potential recession storm, but its stock has traded in a $27- $32 for about 9-months; MSFT currently trades in the middle of that range, hence investors should take note of any prolonged failure to move and stay above $32 in the months ahead.

Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a utilities play currently trading around $58.70, SRE's stock corrected with the market this summer but has recently cleared its 50-day moving average.

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. (NASDAQ: SIAL), a solid chemical manufacturing play, investors should let SIAL clear resistance at $50 before considering a share purchase.

Walgreen (NYSE: WAG), drug stores usually perform adequately during downturns but investors should consider waiting until the stock clears resistance at $48 before purchasing shares.

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+30.6910,464.40
NASDAQ+6.872,176.05
S&P 500+4.981,110.63

Last updated: November 26, 2009: 12:49 AM

BloggingStocks Exclusives

Hot Stocks

DailyFinance Headlines

Latest from BloggingBuyouts

TheFlyOnTheWall.com Headlines

    BioHealth Investor Headlines

    WalletPop Headlines

    My Portfolios

    Track your stocks here!

    Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

    BloggingStocks Partners

    More from AOL Money & Finance

    WalletPop Headlines