7 Stocks you need to know for Friday

Toyota Motor Corporation (TM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) announced plans to make its popular hybrid car, the Prius, in the United States. Toyota closed marginally higher by a little over 1%.

Shares of Alcoa (AA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) soared on record prices for aluminum brought about by a decision by smelters in China to reduce output. The stock was higher by more than 9% on the day.

Federal income tax rebates were credited for boosting June sales for retailers such as Wal-Mart (WMT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) and Costco (COST | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating). Both stocks ended Thursday lower by less than 2%.

Speculation that Fannie Mae (FNM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) and Freddie Mac (FRE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) may ultimately need to be bailed out by the Federal government encouraged further selling by investors and traders on Thursday. Fannie Mae was down by more than 13%. Freddie Mac plunged more than 22%.

Dow Chemical (DOW | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) made its largest acquisition ever in buying chemical company Rohm & Haas for $18.8 billion - including financing from Berkshire Hathaway and the Kuwait Investment Authority. Dow Chemical ended Thursday lower by more than 4%.