Intel Corp (INTC)

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Some Fat Chances for Investors

http://yahoo.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/aug2005/nf20050818_0126_db016.htm
HEAVY BUT LIVELY. That doesn't mean mega-caps aren't worth owning. A handful should be core holdings in every long-term portfolio, say investment managers. And investors inevitably return to the safety of the biggest stocks when they get skittish, notes Jeanne Mockard, portfolio manager of the George Putnam Fund of Boston.

The trick is to buy the elephants that can still dance -- those large-cap stocks likely to increase earnings faster than anticipated, says Nick Raich, director of research at Zacks. If they have a healthy dividend, all the better, says Mockard.

Following are the top 10 of the largest market cap stocks -- all with market capitalization of more than $150 billion -- ranked by the Zacks proprietary earnings momentum score (where 1 is the strongest and 100 the weakest).

Intel (INTC )
As the king of computer chips, Intel serves as the bellwether of the technology sector, which is finally bouncing back after being flattened by the burst bubble. Zacks rates Intel 33 for positive earnings momentum, and its stock is up 21% in the past year, to $26. Its yield is 1.23%.