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Small caps keep grinding higher. And many of the stocks in our portfolio are trading at, or near, all-time highs.

One of our positions reports a strong earnings and revenue beat. For now it’s still a hold as we are awaiting a pullback, but it should be a buy candidate in the near future.

Our portfolio includes a few stocks that we took partial gains on a while back and which haven’t been able to get going in the right direction since. And one that never got going in the first place.

U.S. stock markets continue to suffer, revisiting lows from October and November. We could see modest improvement through year end, but I don’t expect a strong stock market rebound until at least January.

Here’s an update on five of our stocks in the portfolio.

As we mentioned a week ago, there’s no Top Ten issue this week, which is well enough since the decline of the past couple of weeks has left fewer and fewer stocks in good shape. Even so, we wanted to write up a quick (mostly market-based) review for you, with a regular (and more full-featured) update on Friday.

Following last week’s big decline, the market has shown some resilience, and we continue to see a growing number of stocks showing great resilience. Even so, our Cabot Tides green light from two weeks ago has disappeared and the longer-term Cabot Trend Lines remain down, so we continue to advise a cash-heavy posture as we patiently wait for confirmation the buyers have taken control. We have no changes in the Model Portfolio tonight.

The market was relatively quiet today, with the Dow down 28 points and the Nasdaq down 19 as investors looked for news and rumors about the G20 economic summit this weekend.

We all saw U.S. stock markets exhibit exuberance on December 3 and then fear on December 4. I anticipate another strong upward move during the remainder of this week.

Emerging market stocks, as tracked by the MSCI Emerging Market ETF (EEM) aren’t making much progress. But, and this is important, they aren’t losing much ground either.

We have three changes in the portfolio this week.

The stock market slump that started last week has intensified in recent days, bringing the major indexes back to their October lows. I do have one rating change today, selling one third of a position, but the rest of the portfolio is in good shape given the housekeeping we did during last month’s selloff.

Remain defensive, but stay tuned as we could get a Cabot Tides buy signal as early as tomorrow if the market cooperates. Tonight, we’ll stand pat with our huge (90%-plus) cash position, but we’ll send out a bulletin if we get a green light.

With our mix of conservative, growth-oriented and high-yield investments, our portfolio continues to do well. Most of our non-Safe Income stocks are still on Hold, so it’s time to start thinking about becoming more aggressive, if the market becomes more constructive. But we don’t want to get ahead of the market, so no rating changes for now.

After a scary plunge on Monday, the market has finally gotten off its knees and staged its first solid bounce since the meltdown began in early October.

Goosehead Insurance (GSHD) and Everbridge (EVBG) Report Q3 Earnings

The market’s volatility is a relatively normal correction. But for now, my plan is to keep making incremental moves to try to limit risk and pursue opportunities. Hopefully that will mean a number of positions move back to buy in November but there is one exception noted in today’s update.

On Tuesday, voters in three states continued the trend toward increased legalization of marijuana: Michigan voted to legalize the recreational use of the plant, while Utah and Missouri voted to legalize it for medical use.

There’s been plenty of volatility in recent weeks, but nothing has really changed with the market (trends are down) or our stance (highly defensive). We’re not heading to our Panic Room, though, as a strong rally from here could actually produce a Cabot Tides buy signal. In the Model Portfolio, we have no changes tonight, with three stocks and a cash position of around 76%.