March 20, 2016 The Week Ahead
The S&P 500 finished the week on it’s year-to-date highs. An impressive +13% run up from the February 11 lows. A pretty fast transition from panic selling to now almost panic buying. With that said, the VIX closed barely above 14, as we head into a shortened week of trading.
The markets will be closed on Friday, giving many reason to believe that we might continue to see this low volume rally continue.
Even more impressive, has been the run up in crude oil prices. It was another strong week of gains as we eclipsed $40 per barrel. We’re also sitting close to the 2016 highs in crude oil.
Another commodity that is near yearly highs is gold, with cash gold closing the week at 1255.04.
The market is anticipating low volatility, but here are some events to look out for:
Key Economic Data:
21 March 2016- Existing Home Sales 10:00 AM ET
23 March 2016- New Home Sales 10:00 AM ET, EIA Petroleum Report 10:30 AM ET
24 March 2016- Durable Goods Orders 8:30 AM ET, Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
25 March 2016- GDP 8:30 AM ET
Key Earnings:
21 March 2016- MFRM
22 March 2016- FIVE, NKE, RHT, SCS, XONE
23 March 2016- FRAN, GIS, KBH, PVH, RH
24 March 2016- TFM, GME, ACN, FINL, SIG
Key Conferences:
21 March 2016- Apple Product Event Launch, Howard Weil Energy Conference (runs till 3/23)
22 March 2016- Telsey Advisory Conference (runs till 3/23)