EB Watch List Update Report

Dear Members: MARKET NOTE: We're back to a positive day for stocks, at least early on, as traders continue to try to figure out if the worst of the selling is over. Oil is higher today which almost automatically is seen as a positive these days and the fact that all of the major indexes are higher is bullish considering Asia got slammed last night with the Shanghai down over 6%. But you can see that 1900 is now like a brick wall on the S&P, almost like the market is trying to put in an all time high, though it remains over 10% below the 2134 level reached last year. All of this going on with some major events coming up including Apple reporting its earnings after the bell, the Fed making its interest rate announcement tomorrow and then the first look at Q4 GDP on Friday. One plus today is a positive response to some key earnings reports from some large market cap companies. And the VIX is down by 5% and back below its 20 day moving average showing some renewal in trader confidence. Still, anytime you have the VIX hanging in the 20's it tells you that traders have one (or two) fingers on the sell button. For now a close back above 1907 would be bullish. To the downside the bulls will be looking to hold just below 1870 on renewed selling. KEY EARNINGS REPORTS Companies reporting earnings today (January 26) include: MMM, AKS, AAPL, T, COF, CB, COH, GLW, DHR, DD, FCX, JNS, JNJ, LMT, NVR, PG, S, SYK and VMW Companies reporting earnings tomorrow (January 27) include: AMP, BIIB, BA, BAH, BRCM, CRUS, CTXS, DFS, EBAY, EMC, FB, GD, GWB, JNPR, KNX, LRCX, LVS, MCK, NSC, PYPL, QCOM, SNDK, STJ, STT, TER, TXN, TXT, TSCO, TUP, UTX and VRTX ADDITIONS TO WATCH LISTS: We've got some major events about to take place with the S&P fighting to clear that 1900 level so it makes some sense to see what develops over the next day or two to see if it makes sense to add some stocks (long or short) to the Watch List. We will be adding a lot of stocks to the Candidate Tracker soon as more companies report their earnings and will be searching for both long and short trading candidates as appropriate. BRIEF COMMENTS ON SELECT WATCH LIST STOCKS: We are going to remain cautious and start taking profits that come along quickly. Also going to get more defensive on stops as reflected below and until there are signs that the market is improving. Large Cap Watch List SJM - Stock is up almost a dollar today and up $4 from our initial entry so we are going to lock in profits here and remove from our list at current price (as of this email) of $122.66. For those who decide to hold if the stock gets anywhere near our target of $125 do not hesitate to take profits. BSX - This stock has struggled to make any progress for quite some time. It's basically flat from our initial issuance date. We are cancelling our second entry level and raising our stop to a close below $17.25. It really needs to close back above $17.63 or face further selling. Mid Cap Watch List There are no Mid Cap stocks on the Watch List at this time. Small Cap Watch List STMP - This stock made a strong move after we added it to the Watch List and was up $6 from the initial entry point. In retrospect, a good place to take quick profits. If it revisits that level we'll be looking to take those profits. In the meantime we are going to get more defensive and raise our stop to a close below $91 in case the market resumes its move lower. DELETIONS FROM OUR WATCH LISTS: We are removing SJM from the Watch List and raising stop losses on both BSX and STMP. At your service, John Hopkins, EarningsBeats