May 3, 2015 The Week Ahead

The S&P 500 ended the week lower, despite a nice bounce on Friday.

The VIX is currently below the 13 level, indicating little to no fear in the market.

Crude Oil futures ended the week up, maintaining their strength. The United States Oil ETF, (USO), closed the week at $20.40 per share.

This upcoming week is light on economic data; however, we should see some decent volatility in individual stock names. There are still a slew of companies releasing earnings. One notable name will be Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA).

Another notable catalyst will be on Monday; the 20th Annual Ira Sohn Investment Conference will start. Basically, a meeting of some of the sharpest minds on Wall Street talking about their views on the market and what their favorite investment ideas are.

Comments made by some of the top hedge fund managers have the potential to really move individual stock names. Over the last several weeks we’ve seen a ton of aggressive call buying in CSX Corp (CSX). Some traders believe that is a company that will be mentioned positively in the conference.

Last year, The Wall Street Journal live blogged the conference. We highly suggest you find a website that will be covering the conference.

Here’s what’s on the schedule:

Key Economic Data:
5 MAY 2015- International Trade 8:30 AM ET
7 MAY 2015- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
8 MAY 2015- Employment Situation 10:00 AM ET

Key Earnings:
4 MAY 2015- CVS, CMCSA, CTSH, L, PRGO, RLGY, SIRI, TSN, EOG, THC
5 MAY 2015- ADM, DISCA, EMR, HCA, ICE, K, NBL, ODP, S, TRW, VMC, ZTS, UBS, DIS, DVN, EA, HLF
6 MAY 2015- CHK, LAMR, SODA, WEN, HAIN, GSK, ATML, ATVI, CF, FOXA, MET, MRO, TRIP, TSLA, WFM
7 MAY 2015- APA, APO, BABA, GOOG, LEAF, PCLN, SN, CBS, CYBR, NUAN, OLED, OUTR, SFM, TSO

Key Conferences:
4 MAY 2015- Longbow 6th Annual Cleveland Industrial Days, 20th Annual Sohn Investment Conference