May 10, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 erupted after Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, erasing losses from Tuesday and Wednesday’s trading sessions.

The VIX is back below the 13 level after gettting above the 15 mark this week.

Crude Oil futures reached their highest level in 3 months earlier in the week, closing above $60 per barrel. Currently, we’re just below that, at $59.42 per barrel.

Earnings continue to chug along…however, many of the big names have already released. Some key names to watch are Cisco (CSCO), Applied Materials (AMAT), Rackspace Hosting, Inc. (RAX) and retailer, Kohl’s Corp (KSS).

In addition, there are a number of conferences coming up. With that said, we’ll be watching the options activity ahead (or during) these conferences.

Here’s what’s on the schedule:

Key Economic Data:
13 MAY 2015- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET
14 MAY 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, PPI-FD 8:30 AM ET
15 MAY 2015- Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET

Key Earnings:
11 MAY 2015- ACT, BID, ENDP, RAX, VRTU
12 MAY 2015- MCK
13 MAY 2015- M, RL, ZBRA, CSCO
14 MAY 2015- KSS, AMAT, JACK, JWN, KING
15 MAY 2015- PBR

Key Conferences:
11 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/13)- DA Davidson 17th Annual Financial Services Conference
12 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/14)- Bank of America Healthcare Conference
12 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/14)- Bank of America Metals & Mining Conference
12 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/14)- Jefferies Global TMT Conference
12 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/13)- Morgan Stanley Global Energy Conference
12 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/13)- Oppenheimer Industrial Growth Conference
12 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/13)- Wells Fargo Gaming, Leisure & Restaurants Conference