EB Watch List Update Report

MARKET NOTE: Dear Members: It's Fed day with an interest rate announcement scheduled for later today at 2:00 pm eastern. The market is entering the day with the S&P within striking range of its all time high while the NASDAQ has hit a level not seen since December of last year. It should be noted that the NASDAQ is now technically overbought and in fact has printed a black candle which is sometimes a signal that a reversal is at hand. Having said that, Apple surprised analysts with a stronger than expected report and that is giving tech stocks a boost. In addition, if the Fed delivers a dovish statement - which is what the market is assuming - we could see stocks go higher. At the same time any signs that the Fed is ready to raise rates could put a quick halt to the move higher. Here's the way I look at the current situation. The market has been in stealth mode for a solid month now; virtually straight up with an occasional day off, but certainly no meaningful pullback. So everything needs to line up perfectly here; earnings, the Fed, lack of investor fear. So far we've got two of the three favoring the bulls with earnings so far being acceptable and the VIX showing no fear. So now we've got the Fed up next in just a few hours and the market response to what they say could have a major impact on near term trading. Since the S&P is within striking range of its all time high, and since the NASDAQ is extremely stretched, I can only suggest that we continue to be cautious. In other words, I would much rather be thinking about being aggressively long if technical indicators were showing an oversold condition, certainly not an overbought condition which is what we have now. And let's not forget that historically the period between August and September can be very challenging. And if the market does go higher, it will simply be even more overbought and any pullback could be even deeper. For now the range on the S&P is 2175 to the upside and 2100 to 2140 to the downside. KEY EARNINGS REPORTS Companies reporting earnings today (July 27) include: MO, AMGN, BAS.DE, BAYN.DE, BA, BAH, CBT, CG, CRUS, KO, CMCSA, GLW, DLB, DPS, DX, EFX, EXC, FB, FDML, FLIR, FORR, GCI, GRMN, GD< GSK.L, G.TO, GT, GPRO, GRPN, HES, HLT, IR, I, LH, LRCX, LM, LVLT, LL, MAR, MRVL, MCK, MUR, NDAQ, NTGR, NSC, NOC, NTRI, ORLY, OC, OI, PSA, R, SLAB, SO, SU.TO, TMUS, TER, WM, WFM WYN, WYNN and XLNK Companies reporting earnings tomorrow (July 28) include: AFL, ALXN, ALGN, GOOGL, AMZN, AMT, ANZ.L, BA.L, BIDU, BHI, BCC, BWA, BSX, BCO, BMY, BC, CELG, CCO, CME, CL, COLM, COP, CY, DECK, DBD, DOM.L, DOW, EXPE, STAY, FICO, FITB, F, HOG, HCA, HLS, HSY, IGT, IP, ISIL, ITC, KLAC, LLL, LEA, LYV, MPC, MA, N, NYT, OSK, PENN, PAG, PGC, PF, PJC, POT.TO, PFG, RTN, SBAC, SERV, TCO, TRI.TO, VRSN, VC and YRI.TO ADDITIONS TO WATCH LISTS: We're continuing to hold off at least until the Fed rate announcement is over BRIEF COMMENTS ON SELECT WATCH LIST STOCKS: SHORTS: There are no shorts on the Watch List at this time LONGS: Large Cap Watch List NWL - Stock made some progress yesterday but is down a bit today A close above yesterday's close of $49.56 would be very bullish. Mid Cap Watch List There are no Mid Cap stocks on the Watch List at this time. Small Cap Watch List PLAY - This stock is removed from our Watch List since it closed below our stop of $47 yesterday. DELETIONS FROM OUR WATCH LISTS: PLAY is being removed from our Watch List. There are no other 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