EB Watch List Update Report

Dear Members: MARKET UPDATE The bulls have been persistent of late, particularly with a renewed love of tech stocks with all of the major indexes higher. The NASDAQ has now been up 9 straight days in a row dating back to July 9. If you go back in time you will see that there have only been 8 times in recorded history where the NASDAQ has been up 10 days in a row or more, the last time being July of 2009. Prior to that you need to go back to 1988. So only one other time in almost 30 years has the NASDAQ moved up 10 days in a row or more. I bring this up as in looking at the QQQ's it shows a large number of in the money calls expiring this Friday, including almost 140k calls at a strike price of 140. The QQQ's are currently trading close to 144. So to me, in spite of the positive action since the July 6 bottom, there's an argument to be made that the NASDAQ is nearing a top, backed up with stochastics near 98 and the RSI closing in on 70. The S&P is showing stochastics over 95 and also with the RSI closing in on 70. And similar to the NASDAQ, a large number of in the money calls due to expire Friday. At the same time we've got the VIX back near its all time low; complacency at the max, showing all bets right now are on the long side. Certainly the market can remain overbought, and with so many companies on tap to report their earnings, the market could continue to move higher. But there are many indicators flashing a warning sign here that it's hard not to take notice. Also, even though the S&P has set a record high, it's only 15 points above the prior high of 2454 level the bulls had to work so hard to clear. So higher, yes, but actually not by much. Bottom line to me is it makes no sense to chase stocks here, earnings reports notwithstanding. Yes, the market could go higher here, but I think it's too risky at these lofty levels with stretched oscillators and options expiring Friday. KEY EARNINGS REPORTS Companies reporting earnings today (July 19) include: Before Market Open: GWW, MTB, MS, NTRS, TXT and USB After Market Close: AA, AXP, CHRW, KALU, KMI, QCOM, SLM, STLD, TMUS and URI Companies reporting earnings tomorrow (July 20) include: Before Market Open: ABT, BK, BBT, BX, CHKP, DHR, DOV, FNB, KEY, MTG, NUE, PM, SAP, SHW, SNA, SON, TRV, UN and UNP After Market Close: ATHN, COF, ETFC, EBAY, ISRG, MSFT, NCR, SKX, SKWS and V ADDITIONS TO WATCH LISTS: Will let members know if spot any high reward to risk trading candidates. BRIEF COMMENTS ON SELECT WATCH LIST STOCKS: SHORTS: None at this time LONGS: Large Cap Watch List None at this time Mid Cap Watch List None at this time Small Cap Watch List PLAY - Stock is now trading right between its 20 and 50 day moving averages. The good news is if it can clear the 50 day of $67.07 it could be poised to move higher. DELETIONS FROM THE WATCH LIST None at this time At your service, John Hopkins EarningsBeats