U.S. stock futures advanced Tuesday, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished below the 10,000 mark for the first time since early November. With investors encouraged by signs the EU could bail out Greece, bargain hunters searched for deals following the selloff.

U.S. stocks dropped Monday for the third time in four sessions, with the S&P 500 falling 0.9% and the Dow industrials falling over 100 points, or 1%. Concerns about European debt weighed on Wall Street as was the outlook for the U.S. economy, especially in light of reports that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will begin laying the groundwork for credit tightening later in the year.

Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) was down in the after-hours session by over 9% on the heels of the gaming publisher's Q3 report. Non-GAAP sales were off by over 20%. Adjusted income came in at 33 cents per share. This was two cents higher than expectations according to my earnings preview, but a lot less than the 56 cents per share earned in the comparable frame.

The press release mentions the lower quantity of titles released during the holiday season as being a driver of the decline in revenue (a tough European market was also cited). That may be, but it doesn't absolve EA of its fundamental challenges.

On the other hand, not all the stocks paying out big bucks for Super Bowl ad spots are going to see a lift as a result.

Here are five stocks having too much trouble right now for a few glitzy ads to fix.

Disney (DIS): A Toy Story sequel may get a decent draw, but this entertainment giant needs a new brand to rejuvenate its bottom line and build lasting success in 2010.

Electronic Arts (ERTS), a software maker whose colleagues include Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Microsoft (MSFT), Nintendo (NTDOY) and Sony (SNE), will be reporting third-quarter numbers on Monday, Feb. 8, after the market closes up shop. This is going to be an interesting one.

I doubt there are many market watchers out there who aren't aware of the problems in the video game industry; 2009 was not the best of years for the sector, and investors are hoping that 2010 will execute a rebound. However, EA has specific fundamental problems. The declines seen in its share price cannot be solely sourced to the macro conditions of the current console cycle.

THQ (THQI), a video game publisher whose colleagues include Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (ERTS), reported very good news this week. For the third quarter, non-GAAP income was 35 cents per share. In the comparable frame, a loss of 14 cents per share was posted.

This obviously represents a vast improvement, although it should be noted that it didn't come on the back of a big sales increase. On a reported basis, the top line was flat, and on a non-GAAP basis, it was down more significantly. This is important to note, because it would have been nice to have read about a revenue expansion, considering the way the gaming industry has been suffering.

Well, I finally did it. Last week, I sold my position in Activision Blizzard (ATVI), at a price of $10.62 per share. I thought about it long and hard, but in the end, I felt it was the right thing for me to do at this time.

In case you haven't noticed, shares of the video game publisher have been in something of a downtrend as of late. The industry isn't what it used to be. Gaming isn't going away, certainly, but those who follow this sector will no doubt agree that the growth is possibly no longer there, at least for the short term.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Aetna Inc. (AET) shares declined after the insurer issued a surprise earnings warning for 2010.
• Alcoa Inc. (AA) swung to a smaller-than-expected Q4 profit even as revenue declined, sending shares lower.
• Carter's Inc. (CRI) posted strong Q3 earnings that topped estimates and same-store sales growth.
• Chevron Corp. (CVX) shares declined slightly after the company issued a surprise earnings warning.
• Con-Way Inc. (CNW) was downgraded due in part to concerns about near-term earnings.

Today started out as a down day and it stayed that way. The market tried to recover mid-morning, but that failed. The financial sector was under pressure from guidance and from fears of more reprisals out of Washington D.C. that never seem to go away. The rest of the market pressure was on earnings and a pressure of earnings warnings hitting the stocks.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,626.81 -37.18 (-0.35%)
S&P 500 1,136.21 -10.77 (-0.94%)
Nasdaq 2,282.31 -30.10 (-1.30%)

Top Analyst Upgrades
Top Analyst Downgrades

It is shaping up to be a very rough day for Electronic Arts (ERTS), as the company has lowered its full-fiscal-year guidance for a second time in two months.

Electronic Arts expects to report a loss of $1.94 to $2.24 per share, which is far greater than the earlier-estimated loss of $1.20 to $2.05 per share. Revenue is now expected to total $3.6 billion to $3.68 billion, a narrower range than the previously forecast $3.6 billion to $3.9 billion. Taking one-time charges out of the equation, Electronic Arts expects earnings of 40 to 55 cents per share compared to its earlier forecast for 30 cents to a dollar per share. Furthermore, Electronic Arts estimated a third-quarter loss of 24 cents to 32 cents per share on revenue of $1.23 billion to $1.25 billion.

U.S. stock market futures slumped Tuesday morning after aluminum giant Alcoa reported disappointing results late Monday to kick off the fourth-quarter earnings season. Warnings from Chevron and Electronic Arts only further rattled already jittery investors.

U.S. stocks were mixed on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 finishing the session higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the day lower. While strong trade data out of China boosted confidence about the global economy, investors also eyed a weak dollar and higher commodity prices.

Right now, like many individual investors, I am thinking about the coming year on Wall Street. What moves should I make? What stocks should I look at? Specifically: How should I position my portfolio?

One company I am almost certain to get rid of is Activision Blizzard (ATVI). I reserve the right to change my mind on this, but data on the video game industry point to a deterioration in the fundamentals. Many headlines throughout the year have trumpeted the fact that the console cycle is aging, and that demand for high-end systems has been satiated.

This post is part of a special report, Top Picks for 2010, the 27th annual survey in which TheStockAdvisors.com asks the nation's leading advisors for their single favorite stock for the new year. See all 80 stocks listed here.

"I've been tracking the companies I feel are best positioned to sustain the market's upward momentum into next year," says Karim Rahemtulla.

The options expert with Investment U suggests, "One such company is Electronic Arts (ERTS) -- a major player in the video game industry."

Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), a video game publisher whose competitors include Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (ERTS), actually held up well Thursday after the company issued its Q4 report. I was honestly expecting a sell-off after the news. Why? The video game industry just isn't popular these days, so I figured the market would have found some excuse to send the shares packing. To my surprise, Take-Two gained over 1.8% in the regular session and then another 3% in the after-hours following the release.

Revenues increased 6%, but the action was in the per-share profit line. On an adjusted basis, Take-Two brought home 9 cents per share versus 2 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2008. But I don't think the market cared too much about the data. After all, guidance for Q4 had already been announced near the beginning of the month. At that time, the stock was punished for the bad outlook and the upcoming GAAP loss. And I mean really punished. It lost 30% of its value at one point.

We started seeing some divergence again as stocks rose while the dollar was up and oil was down. Maybe markets will go back to acting more on their internal fundamentals and their own technical patterns rather than that of the dollar or the price of oil, as crude closed under $70 and as stocks stayed strong. Inflation was rather tame at 0.7% in commodity imports if you take out the price of oil. Overseas market strength kept a solid floor under any selling attempts by bears today.

Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,471.50 +65.67 (0.63%)
S&P 500 1,106.41 +4.06 (0.37%)
Nasdaq 2,190.31 -0.55 (-0.03%)

Top 10 Analyst Calls
Top 5 Day Trader Alerts

Does it seem to you like the entire video game trade is unwinding like a venomous snake, ready to plunge its fearful fangs into any individual foolish enough to invest in the sector? I've already written about my unfortunate timing related to GameStop (GME), and I've covered the bad news surrounding console giant Nintendo (NTDOY). What's next in the stream of negative headlines?

How about Take-Two Interactive (TTWO)? That stock was down 30% in afternoon trading at the time of this writing. 30%! According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), management issued some poor guidance that has shaken the confidence of market players. Add to that the general state of the retail environment, and you've got yourself a decidedly awful combination.