NEW YORK, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Standard & Poor's equity research team has issued the names of thirty-five stocks expected to be stellar performers in 2002.

The stocks, referred to as the S&P PowerPicks 2002 Portfolio, are drawn from the 10 Global Industry Classification Standard sectors that make up the S&P 500 Index and are all members of the S&P 1500 Composite Index, which consists of large cap, mid cap and small cap companies.

The picks included, American International Group (NYSE:AFF), Ameripath, Andrx Corp., Biomet, Cephalon, Chico's FAS, ChoicePoint, Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ), Cooper Industries (NYSE:CBE), DoubleClick, Fedex Corp., FEI Co. (NASDAQ:FEIC), FleetBoston Financial, Flextronics, Fortune Brands, Global Santa Fe, IBM, IMC Global, IndyMac Bancorp (NYSE:IMB), Kaydon, Kinder Morgan, MBNA Corp., Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP), Moody's, Nextel Communications, Pactiv Corp. (NYSE:PTV), Park Place Entertainment, Peregrine Systems, Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:GX), Sears, Roebuck, Siebel Systems, Steel Dynamics. (NASDAQ:TLD) TXU Corp., Tyco International (NYSE:TYC) and UTStarcom.

"Each of our 35 analysts contributes to this list based on his or her research and belief that the companies they select are positioned for superior growth throughout the new year," said Kenneth Shea, managing director, Equity Research, Standard & Poor's.

The objective of the PowerPicks Portfolio is to exceed the total return capital appreciation plus dividends paid -- generated by the S&P 500 during the same year. The portfolio will be a "frozen" one, meaning that it will undergo no changes throughout the entire year.

"The S&P PowerPicks 2002 Portfolio represents the collective 'best ideas' by the Standard & Poor's equity research staff," said Shea.

The median capitalization of the S&P PowerPicks 2002 Portfolio is approximately $5 billion, ranging from a high of $209 billion for American International Group to a low of $500 million for Steel Dynamics.

By contrast, the median market capitalization of the S&P 500 Index is approximately $8.3 billion. The heaviest economic sectors within the S&P PowerPicks 2002 portfolio are information technology, health care, financials, and consumer discretionary, which, together, make up nearly two-thirds of the portfolio's issues.

Creation of S&P PowerPicks annual portfolios began on Jan. 1, 1997. Since inception, the S&P PowerPicks portfolios cumulative total return performance through Nov. 30 was plus 86.9 percent, vs. plus 64.5 percent for the S&P 500 index (both including dividends).