EB Watch List Update Report

Dear Members: First, I want to point members to Tom Bowley's Blog on our site where you will find his Seasonal Trends for April article. A MUST read as we get ready to head into a new trading month later this week. MARKET NOTE The new trading week is off to a soft start with all of the major indexes trading fairly flat though the NASDAQ is down slightly. Economic news from this morning continues to show a thrifty consumer even with incomes rising more than expected. Pending home sales came out stronger than expected as well. The prevailing thought these days is the combination of a careful consumer along with lower corporate profit expectations is keeping the market from making any meaningful progress, something that has kept the S&P from revisiting its all time high going back to May of last year. Of course there's also the Fed to consider these days as well though the idea of raising rates has mostly taken a back seat lately. Interestingly, the VIX is higher by over 5% today in spite of the market being fairly flat. Maybe a recognition that selling could pick up without some type of catalyst to get traders re-interested on the long side. But it still remains below all key technical levels which favors the bulls. This week includes a lot of key economic reports which most definitely could impact the near term direction of the market. None larger than Friday's monthly non-farm payroll report which you might recall wes very strong last month with lower expectations for March. But overall we're seeing a market that so far has kept traders interested enough to keep the S&P above all key technical levels and that continues to trade in a range of 2056 to the upside and now 2010 to the downside. Maybe we'll see one of those levels taken out this week, especially with so many economic reports coming out by Friday. And, in just two weeks, another earnings season will get under way when Alcoa reports its numbers on April 11. But for this exact moment the S&P is almost directly in the middle of its trading range making it a bit trickier to pull the trigger on new longs or shorts, though it must be conceded that the bulls should be given the benefit of the doubt here until the bears can convince traders that the most recent rally is over. KEY EARNINGS REPORTS Companies reporting earnings today (March 28) include: SNX Companies reporting earnings tomorrow (March 29) include: CSX and HCSG ADDITIONS TO WATCH LISTS: I would like to present some new trading candidates but I'm thinking it makes sense to hold off for now to see if there are better reward to risk opportunities if we get to either end of the trading range or if we see a move below or above current support and resistance levels. Cash is not such a bad alternative at this time. BRIEF COMMENTS ON SELECT WATCH LIST STOCKS: SHORTS: BGC - Stock is down by 4.5% today. A close below 10.36 would put the stock in a position to move even lower. LONGS: 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: There are no deletions from the Watch List today unless a Watch List stock closes below or above the stop loss provided. At your service, John Hopkins, EarningsBeats