Schaeffer's Daily Market Blog Features Wal-Mart Stores, Home Depot, TODCO, Celgene, and Visteon.

CINCINNATI -- Among the stocks featured in the December 28 edition of Schaeffer's Market Blog are Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT), Home Depot (NYSE:HD), TODCO (NYSE:THE), Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG), and Visteon (NYSE:VC). Schaeffer's Market Blog is just one of the many free market commentaries written everyday 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. For additional information about this report or to have it delivered to you free via email every day click on the following link. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB12M&PAGE=1 .

Schaeffer's Market Blog for Wednesday, December 28, 2005:

Below are just a few of today's Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Market Blog. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&PAGE=1 .

10:47 AM Retail HOLDRS Trust is Being Squeezed

A quick communication from Bernie this morning alerted traders that the Retail HOLDRS Trust (RTH) is being squeezed, at least technically. Its rising 80-day and 160-day moving averages are supporting the shares while the 100 level above has served as resistance. Keep in mind that this is one Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) whose components are not equally weighted. That is, Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) comprise about 18 percent and 17 percent of RTH, respectively. Lowes, Target, and Walgreen make up about nine percent each. So these five stocks account for more than 62 percent of RTH. You can read more about the composition of various retail ETFs in an observation I wrote last week.

11:04 AM Calls Trade Actively on TODCO

According to Yahoo! Finance, TODCO (NYSE:THE) provides contract oil and gas drilling services in the shallow water of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Yesterday, calls traded actively on THE, as call volume was 6.3 times heavier than average. Nearly 21,200 options crossed the tape, with the most actively traded being the March 50 strike (THE CJ). Investors exchanged approximately 13,000 THE CJ contracts yesterday. A check on today's open interest configuration shows that nearly all of these contracts translated into new positions of open interest. With the stock trading at $38.13, a $50 price target by March options expiration seems quite a lofty target.

11:31 AM Celgene Wins FDA Approval

Shares of Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) are trading nearly six percent higher this morning on the news that the Food and Drug Administration approved the company's Revlimid drug. CELG also announced it would be splitting its shares two-for-one as of the close of business on February 17, if granted approval.

A check on the equity's sentiment outlook reveals a mixed outlook. Option players are sanguine, as the current Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.70 is lower than 80 percent of all readings taken over the past year. Short sellers have made decent bets against the stock. CELG sports a short-interest ratio of 5.8 days, which accounts for 6.7 percent of its float. Financial analysts favor the security, with eight "buy" ratings, four "hold" ratings, and one "sell" rating on CELG. Considering the positive fundamental news, mixed sentiment outlook, and impressive price action, shares of CELG look poised to continue their march higher.

11:37 AM Visteon to be De-Listed

Visteon (NYSE:VC) has tumbled more than five percent today, as investors are reacting negatively to VC's role in the new shake up in stock listings on the S&P 500 Index (SPX). Standard & Poor's announced that it is removing the struggling auto parts maker from the SPX due to low market capitalization, adding to this year's list of woes for the company. After the index closes on Friday, CBS Corp. (CBSWI) will replace VC on the broad-market indicator. Stocks dropped from the SPX usually take a hit as many fund managers are required to prune them from portfolios.

Technically, VC has shed more than 40 percent since September. The shares are currently trapped between support in the 6.50 area and overhead resistance at the seven level and its 10-week moving average. Sentiment for VC is also disturbing from a contrarian point of view. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.85 falls in the 34th percentile of its annual range, indicating a sizeable degree of optimism from the speculative crowd. Wall Street is in a holding pattern, as 10 of the 11 covering analysts rate the shares a "hold." Meanwhile, short interest crept 2.5 percent higher during December, amounting to more than 11 percent of the stock's total float and requiring approximately six days to cover. However, with today's news and VC's lackluster technical performance, these investors are highly unlikely to be forced into a covering situation anytime soon.

The above are just a few of today's Daily Market Blog entries. Click here to read all of today's Daily Market Blog. http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/redirect.aspx?CODE=PROB1C&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 .