March 1, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 closed the month at 2104; making it the best performing month since October 2011 (+5%). Entering the month, doubts about the Eurozone and Greece, and plummeting oil prices weighed heavily on traders’ minds. Not to mention, when the Fed would start hinting at hiking interest rates.

As of now, those concerns have been brushed under the rug. One only needs to see the monthly performance of the VIX to be convinced of that. The VIX opened the month at 20.89 and closed at 13.34 on Friday. Talk about a volatility collapse… a + 35% decline.

With tax refunds coming in, will investors step in and buy this market at near all-time highs? Well, for the most part, active traders don’t spend too much time on such trivial debates. After all, we will find out soon enough; instead they focus on what is in front of them and how to take advantage of those opportunities.

With that said, let’s take a look at what’s on tap for the first week of March.

Key Economic Numbers:

2 March 2015- Personal Income 8:30AM ET, ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00AM ET
5 March 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30AM ET
6 March 2015- Employment Situation 8:30AM ET, International Trade 8:30AM ET

Key Earnings Announcements:

2 March 2015- BID, SSYS, MYL, NBR, PANW, SLXP
3 March 2015- BBY, TIVO, AMBA
4 March 2015- ANF, PETM, W, HRB
5 March 2015- CIEN, COST, FNSR, CSIQ
6 March 2015- FL, SPLS

Key Conferences:

2 March 2015- Cowen Healthcare Conference, Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference
3 March 2015- JPMorgan Aviation, Transportation and Industrials Conference
4 March 2015- Simmons & Co Energy Conference

Generally, it’s important to be aware if you are trading a stock that is presenting in a conference; a positive or negative mention could create additional volatility.

Overall, scheduled events are light this week. It wouldn’t be surprising if we saw the market chop around after such an impressive performance in February. If the action does slow down, take the opportunity to work on your process. If you don’t have a process yet, we encourage you to check out our free training videos, and get a feel of how successful traders approach this market.

See you back here on Tuesday.

Tomorrow is the end of the month, if GDP numbers are in line with expectations, it could be a very slow and dull day of trading. If that’s the case, instead of trading, take time to work on your process, review your trades to see what has and hasn’t worked.

If you need any help, we invite you to check out educational program. It teaches you how to approach trading like a professional.

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