EB Watch List Update Report

Dear Members: MARKET NOTE: In yesterday's report I mentioned I was pleased to see some selling; it was overdue. I also pointed out that if the S&P gave up the 2193 level then the next key test would be near 2180. We didn't get that close yesterday but did get as low as 2187. Today the NASDAQ is getting a little bump which makes sense since it has gotten hit hard the past two sessions. In fact it closed below both its 20 and 50 day moving averages yesterday and was down earlier in the session before bargain hunting kicked in. The monthly jobs report came out this morning with mixed results. It showed over 170,000 jobs created and an unemployment rate of 4.6% but wages came in lower than expected. It has resulted in some cooling off in government bond yields which were technically stretched. The Dow is fairly flat today and still remains technically overbought. So I would not be surprised to see blue chips pull back some before making much of a move higher. The next "big" event will be the week after next when the Fed makes its interest rate announcement. The market continues to price in a .25 raise so the key will be the language that accompanies the rate increase. The overall market momentum has certainly cooled. That's fine as well. And though the VIX is lower today it's well off of recent lows with traders back to having one finger on the sell button, just in case. For now we've got a range on the S&P of 2213 to the upside and 2180 to the downside. We're pretty much in the middle right now so it makes some sense to hold off doing much of anything until we see what develops by day's end and as we enter the weekend. KEY EARNINGS REPORTS Companies reporting earnings today (December 2) include: BIG and NA.TO Companies reporting earnings Monday (December 5) include: HBC.TO ADDITIONS TO WATCH LISTS: I had mentione that we will be adding a substantial number of stocks to our Candidate Tracker over the next few days. We are hoping to have this completed over the weekend. BRIEF COMMENTS ON SELECT WATCH LIST STOCKS: SHORTS: There are no shorts on the Watch List at this time LONGS: Large Cap Watch List AKAM - Unfortunately this stock got caught in the NASDAQ sell off from the past two days and closed below our stop loss of $65.61. Accordingly it will be removed from our Watch List. Mid Cap Watch List ERJ - This stock is down slightly and now is back below its 50 day moving average so could go lower. Remember that we have a second entry price of $19.15 on a further pullback. So if you are conservative you might want to exit and see if it gets to the lower level which is very possible, especially if the NASDAQ continues to weaken. Small Cap Watch List None at this time DELETIONS FROM OUR WATCH LISTS: We are removing AKAM from the Watch List as it closed below our stop loss. I want to wish everyone a restful weekend and will be back Monday morning with my EB Watch List Update Report. At your service, John Hopkins EarningsBeats