EB Watch List Update Report

MARKET NOTE: The market is trying to find its footing after selling earlier in the session. This comes on the heels of yesterday's move lower which could actually have been worse had there not been some late day buying. The US is not alone when it comes to reeling markets. Overnight the NIKKEI fell 5.4%; that's quite a one day haircut. And in Europe stocks are lower as well. Oil is down slightly with the energy sector down by 1.6% so far today. Financials continue to be weak; all of the major banks are on sale but no one seems to want to bite. There's a whole lot of other stocks on sale as well including some of the leading tech stocks that everyone loved a few months back but want nothing to do with today. Of course no one wants to touch small cap stocks, health care stocks, blue chips; what am I missing? If we've got a buyer's strike going on it doesn't look like it wants to end anytime soon. Bond yields continue to fall with the ten year treasury note touching 1.69% earlier this morning. We last saw this level back in February, 2015. Prior to that was May, 2013. So two other times since 2013, very rare territory that is happening just before Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen's two day testimony before Congress starting tomorrow with the bulls hoping desperately that she sets a dovish tone and backs off the idea of multiple rate increases this year. As far as the S&P goes it got as low as 1828 on yesterday's selling, holding above the most recent low of 1812. And the bulls know that if 1812 goes that a visit to the 1700's is almost certain. Perhaps this is what the market needs, another leg down in order to get more traders interested in going long stocks. Interestingly, in spite of constant downward pressure, none of the major indexes are technically oversold, which is problematic for the bulls. The NASDAQ comes the closest with Stochastics in the teens and a RSI of 30. So far the NASDAQ has held above yesterday's low of 4212 and if that goes the next key level of support is the October, 2014 low near 4115. So a lot of incentive for the bulls to try to convince traders the worst of the selling is over; good luck with that. All of this adding up to being very difficult for traders to put their capital to work on the long side; for many it just seems too risky, with the VIX up 4% today as it remains above all key technical levels though well below the level we saw when it climbed above 50 briefly during the August 24, 2015 flash crash. Maybe that's what traders are waiting for; another scary plunge to clear the decks. Sure seems like its going to taking something dramatic to get more traders off the sidelines as the bears maintain their grip on the market. KEY EARNINGS REPORTS Companies reporting earnings today (February 9) AKAM, BIDU, BLKB, CDW, KO, CSC, CVS, FRT, FDC, GT, IR, MAS, NCR, PNRA, RGC, SAVE, STMP, TEN, TRMB, VIAB, DIS, WEN, WU and WYN Companies reporting earnings tomorrow (February 10) include: CSCO, DTE, EFX, EXPE, FMC, HUM, JCOM, OC, PRU, TCO, TSLA, TWX, TWTR and WFM ADDITIONS TO WATCH LISTS: As you can see we currently have no stocks on our Watch List. There are reasons for that, many that have been laid out above. We continue to scan the earnings universe and hope to be adding some long and short trading candidates later this week. In the meantime we will continue to lay low with our primary goal in the short term helping our members navigate this tricky market. BRIEF COMMENTS ON SELECT WATCH LIST STOCKS: Large Cap Watch List There are no Large Cap stocks on the Watch List at this time. 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: No Watch List stocks at this time. At your service, John Hopkins, EarningsBeats