Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features: Cisco Systems, Kohl's, Nordstrom, Sharper Image, and Lennar.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the September 26 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Kohl's (NYSE:KSS), Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN), Sharper Image (NASDAQ:SHRP), and Lennar (NYSE:LEN). Schaeffer's Market Blog is just one of the many free market commentaries written every day at www.SchaeffersResearch.com - the home of Bernie Schaeffer and Schaeffer's Investment Research. The Market Blog is written throughout every trading day by Schaeffer's financial analysts and traders. They are quick insights to the day's most notable market activity from an options perspective. To have this report delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link and you'll also get an opportunity to win an iPod Nano. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB13M&PAGE=1 .

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10:28 AM Cisco Systems to Invest in Turkey

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) announced this morning that it plans to invest $275 million in Turkey over five years. The firm plans to create a technology innovation center that will provide a laboratory platform for testing new technologies for the Turkish market. The stock is trading almost one percent lower this morning as it continues to consolidate into support at its ascending 10-day moving average. The equity has been guided higher by its 10-day and 20-day trendlines since the stock gapped higher on August 9.

From a sentiment standpoint, options players are growing more skeptical of the stock's strength. The equity's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio has risen to an annual high of 0.69. This increase indicates that speculators have added puts at a faster pace than calls among near-term options.

11:49 AM Credit Suisse Loses Confidence in Retailers

Shortly after the opening bell, brokerage firm Credit Suisse offered some opinions on the retailing sector, and the reviews were not positive. Citing valuation concerns, the firm downgraded both Kohl's (NYSE:KSS) and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) to "neutral" from "outperform" and reduced its rating on J.C. Penney (JCP) to "underperform" from "neutral."

In an accompanying statement, Credit Suisse noted that: "We simply believe that valuations for these stocks appear full and that investor expectations are unlikely to rise given an increasingly uncertain consumer economy."

The subsequent fallout has been moderate. JWN shares are currently down 1.5 percent, KSS is off 2.2 percent, and JCP has retreated 1.9 percent. The AMEX Retail HOLDRs Trust (RTH) is actually showing a fractional gain.

12:43 PM Management Shake-Up for Sharper Image

Specialty electronics retailer Sharper Image (NASDAQ:SHRP) is in the news today; the firm said its chairman and chief executive officer, Richard Thalheimer, would vacate his post amid slumping sales numbers. Immediately placed in the joint role is Jerry Levin, a member of the SHRP board of directors who previously served as the chairman of American Household.

The beleaguered stock is having a positive reaction to this news, rising more than five percent in today's trading. This gain has enabled the stock to ease above its 10-week moving average for the first time since late May.

On the sentiment front, Wall Street has virtually abandoned SHRP. Just one brokerage firm currently covers the stock, awarding a "hold" rating. The modest options crowd is relatively complacent, as suggested by the Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.74, which ranks in the 27th annual percentile. The Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard, which provides a quick overview of a stock's Expectational Analysis([R]) profile, levies a rating of 3.0 out of a possible 10, suggesting that future downside may be in the cards. But for today, the equity is cheered by the news of new blood.

2:10 PM Housing Leads Again

How's this for a broken record - housing is doing great. As I've been saying the past few weeks, this sector represents one of the best opportunities going forward. Today, Lennar (NYSE:LEN) lowered its guidance and gapped lower. But right now, the stock is in the green. This is exactly the type of price action we want to see on "bad" news. Right now, the ISE Homebuilders Index (RUF) is up another 2.26 percent. Looking at some individual names, Centex (CTX) is up more than three percent, Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) is up four percent, and Ryland Group (RYL) is up just under three percent.

For more information on these stocks or any stock in your portfolio, feel free to visit our Schaeffer's Equity Scorecard feature. Click here to read all of today's Market Blog: http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB13C&PAGE=1.

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About Schaeffer's Investment Research (www.SchaeffersResearch.com)

Schaeffer's Investment Research, founded by Bernie Schaeffer in 1981, is a financial information and trading resources company. It publishes Bernie Schaeffer's Option Advisor, the nation's leading options subscription newsletter. The firm's contrarian approach focuses on stocks with technical and fundamental trends that run counter to investor expectations. The firm's website, http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com , is recognized as one of the leading information sources for stock and options traders and was cited as the top options website by both Forbes and Barron's. Click here for more details about Schaeffer's trading methodology: http://www.SchaeffersResearch.com/method .