May 25, 2015 The Week Ahead

First off, we’d like to wish you a happy Memorial Day. With that said, the markets are closed today, which means the trading week will consist of four days.

Now, the S&P 500 ended Friday’s trading slightly lower on weak volume. However, we are still sitting on near all-time highs.

The VIX is still below the 12.5 level, indicating that market players have become complacent.

Crude Oil futures are near their 3 month highs, closing slightly below $60 per barrel. In fact, crude oil futures have risen on a weekly basis for two straight months now.

Earnings worth highlighting this week include several clothing retailers. The results of these specific companies are worth paying attention to, as they can be used as indicator for consumer strength or weakness.

In addition, GDP numbers will be released on Friday. There is always a chance the market could move off these results. However, they’ve lost some sting over the years, due to the fact that they are constantly revised.

Here’s what’s on the schedule:

Key Economic Data:
26 MAY 2015- Durable Goods 8:30 AM ET, New Home Sales 10 AM ET
28 MAY 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
29 MAY 2015- GDP 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
26 MAY 2015- AZO, TIVO, VNET, WDAY
27 MAY 2015- PANW, DSW, KORS, TOL, TIF, VALE, COST
28 MAY 2015- ANF, EXPR, SIG, DECK, GME, OVTI, PSUN, SPLK, ULTA, AVGO, SAFM

Key Conferences:
26 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/29)- KeyBanc Industrial, Auto, Transportation Conference
26 MAY 2015 (runs till 5/28)- Re/Code’s Code Conference
27 May 2015 (runs till 5/29)- Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference
27 May 2015 (runs till 5/28)- Citigroup Global Consumer Conference
27 May 2015 (runs till 5/28)- Cowen Technology, Media, Telecom Conference