EB Watch List Update Report

Dear Members: First, please note that I have posted a new Behavior Modification Case Study on the site which you can find under my blog. MARKET NOTE: Yesterday's sharp move to the downside spooked a lot of traders and now today all of the major indexes are higher. What's changed between yesterday and today? For one thing the S&P held key support. Next, the ECB held rates steady with assurances they are ready to take proactive action as necessary. We're also seeing oil trying to stabilize after getting clobbered day after day recently. And earnings so far have at least given the market hope that they might not be as bad as expected. We do need to keep things in perspective here; it's been relentless selling all year long. So at some point there needs to be a pause which is what we are getting at the moment. It doesn't mean the market is out of the woods but traders are sensing the worst of the selling could be over in the near term. If that turns out to be true then the S&P will first need to clear 1900 with the 20 day moving average now at 1950. Given the negativity of late clearing any key technical level would have to be considered a victory. We now know where key support lies; 1812, yesterday's low. That is a level the bulls do not want to see again, at least in the near term. But this is going to require more buying on the long side. We saw traders getting more aggressive yesterday and now we need to see some follow through. We'll get a ton of additional earnings over the next few weeks and any string of decent numbers could do the trick. KEY EARNINGS REPORTS Companies reporting earnings today (January 21) include: AXP, BK, BBT, CP.TO, ETFC, FITB, HBAN, KEY, MTG, SLB, LUV, SBUX, TRV, UNP, UAL and VZ Companies reporting earnings tomorrow (January 22) include: GE, LM and STI ADDITIONS TO WATCH LISTS: We are going to add two stocks to the Watch List at this time: Stamps.com (STMP) - Initial entry at current price (at time of this email) of $92.72 and a second entry at $88.50 with a target of $100 and tight stop loss of a close below $87.50. The J.M. Smucker Co. (SJM) - Initial entry at current price (at time of this email) of $118.87 with a target of $125 and a tight stop loss of a close below $117.50. BRIEF COMMENTS ON SELECT WATCH LIST STOCKS: Large Cap Watch List BSX - Stock is up over 1% today and a close back above $17.93 would be bullish. Mid Cap Watch List There are no Mid Cap stocks on the Watch List at this time. Small Cap Watch List There are no Small Cap stocks on the Watch List at this time. DELETIONS FROM OUR WATCH LISTS: There are no deletions from the Watch List today unless a Watch List stock closes below the stop loss provided. At your service, John Hopkins, EarningsBeats