7 Stocks you need to know for Today

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ | charts | news | PowerRating) beat earnings on Thursday afternoon, announcing $0.71 EPS over an expected $0.66 EPS.

J.M. Smucker (SJM | charts | news | PowerRating) reports quarterly earnings on Friday before the bell; watch for $0.67 EPS.

Lancaster Colony (LANC | charts | news | PowerRating) should announce $0.62 EPS on Friday morning before the market opens.

Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (CFC | charts | news | PowerRating) drew on a $11.5 billion line of credit to cover massive losses; Moody's also downgraded CFC's senior debt rating to the lowest investment-grade rating.

General Motors (GM | charts | news | PowerRating) plummeted after a mortgage originator, Residential Capital owned by the auto maker was cut to junk status by Moody's.

Oil sold off over 4% today, so watch for major oil companies to be affected, like Exxon Mobil (XOM | charts | news | PowerRating) and Chevron (CVX | charts | news | PowerRating).