You should focus on the leaders–the stocks that held up well during the market’s five-week correction and have just bolted to new peaks on big volume.  But this is also earnings season, so even if you haven’t jumped on board some recent breakout stocks, there should be plenty of opportunity to get on board after some earnings gaps.

To review, powerful gaps higher (10%, 15% or more) right after earnings reports usually lead to higher prices.  Most investors are afraid to buy a stock that’s just risen 20%, but if that gap comes after earnings, buying at that time is usually your best move.

Looking ahead, here are some stocks I’m watching:

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) reports tomorrow night (July 22).  A big gap above 93 (hopefully higher) would be highly bullish, especially as CMG has been building a nice-looking base since late April.

Amazon.com (AMZN) reports on Thursday (July 23).  The stock has also been etching a launching pad for a couple of months, and I’d love to buy this stock on a solid 10% to 15% gap higher on earnings.

Netflix (NFLX) also reports on Thursday, though this one is a bit trickier.  It has overhead resistance around 50, so it would have to clear that hurdle to get me really interested.

Baidu (BIDU) also reports on Thursday (busy day!).  The stock just broke out of a nice five-week base on big volume, but it’s not overly extended.  If you happen to get a big, liquid stock like this to gap up significantly, it would be a definitive sign of new leadership.

Of course, if these or other stocks gap down on their earnings, then all bets are off; I don’t advise placing big bets ahead of earnings because, frankly, it’s more like gambling than investing.  Instead, just watch how these stocks perform the day after their earnings reports.  If one of them has a monster gap up, I think you’ll be looking at a powerful leader of the bull move.