August 28, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 closed the week on a three day losing streak, however; volume has been below average and volatility has been virtually non-existent. With that said, we’re only about 1% off our highs. For the most part, traders have been focusing on stocks in the news versus what’s happening in the economy. At the moment, the medical space seems to be the most active. Heated arguments have been drawn up by politicians questioning their business practices. As the elections near, one could only imagine that volatility continues to pick up in the sector.

Now, the market was down about .6% on the week, however; that didn’t stop traders from buying protection. The VIX shot up during the week, closing at 13.65.

Crude oil futures prices cooled off this week, declining nearly 3%. OPEC is scheduled to meet late in September. Until then, traders will be monitoring any statements made before that meeting.

Moving on, gold futures prices fell 1.4%. In addition, T-bond futures prices fell more less than .5%.

Here is what else is on the schedule for the upcoming week:

Key Economic Data:
29 Aug 2016- Personal Income and Outlays 8:30 AM ET
31 Aug 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM
1 Sep 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, ISM Manufacturing Index 10:00 AM ET.
2 Sep 2016- Employment Situation 8:30 AM ET, International Trade 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
29 Aug 2016- CTLT
30 Aug 2016- ANF, DSW, FRED, HRB, NCS, PANW, VEEV
31 Aug 2016- CHS, BLOX, BOBE, BOX, CRM, FIVE, SMTC
1 Sep 2016- CIEN, CPB, JOY, LULU, AMBA, AVGO, PAY, SWHC

Key Conferences:
30 Aug 2016- Jefferies Semiconductor, Hardware, and Communications Conference (runs till 8/31); Longbow Industrial Manufacturing & Technology Conference (runs till 8/30)

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August 14, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 closed the week nearly unchanged, holding on to record high levels. Earnings have been fairly decent across the board as we head into next week. Despite the market being near all-time highs, it hasn’t really been met with too much excitement as witnessed by the below average trading volume.

The VIX didn’t really change much from the previous Friday’s close, still trading below 12 at 11.55.

Crude oil futures prices gained more than 6% on the week. OPEC is set to meet next month, earlier in the week, the Saudi Oil Minister made comments that they’d be willing to work with other OPEC nations to stabilize prices.

Moving on, gold futures prices were relatively unchanged. In addition, T-bond futures prices gained nearly 1%, and are now about 2.5% off their 52-week highs.

Earnings season is slowing down, but we’ll be hearing from big retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS), Home Depot (HD), Lowe’s (LOW), Target (TGT), and WalMart (WMT) just to name a few.

Here is what else is on the schedule for the upcoming week:

Key Economic Data:
16 Aug 2016- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET, Housing Starts 8:30 AM ET, Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET
17 Aug 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET, FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
18 Aug 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, Philly Fed Survey 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
15 Aug 2016- SYY
16 Aug 2016- AAP, COTY, DKS, HD, TJX, CREE, URBN
17 Aug 2016- AEO, LOW, SPLS, TGT, A, CSCO, NTAP
18 Aug 2016- BONT, WMT, AMAT, GPS, ROST, DV
19 Aug 2016- DE, EL, FL, MSG

Key Conferences:
15 Aug 2016- Enercom Energy Conference (runs till 8/18)

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August 7, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 closed the week higher, holding on to record high levels. Earnings have been rolling out pretty smoothly and on Friday we received a really strong employment number. Sure, a lot of these gains in the market have been on extremely low volume, however; that hasn’t been raised as a concern yet. The economic schedule is light but there are more earnings to look forward too.

The VIX continued to decline during the week, closing on Friday below 12, at 11.39.

Crude oil futures prices gained almost 1% on the week, however; we’re nearly 12% off our one month highs.

Moving on, gold futures prices dropped more than 1% on the week, turning a weekly gain into a loss after Friday’s employment numbers. In addition, T-bond futures prices dropped more than 1.5%, as they fell back from yearly high levels.

As mentioned earlier, earnings season continues to roll. We’ll be hearing from Michael Kors (KORS), Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX), Alibaba (BABA), Yelp (YELP), and Disney (DIS) just to name a few.

Here is what is on tap for this upcoming week:

Key Economic Data:
10 Aug 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
11 Aug 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET
12 Aug 2016- Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET, PPI 8:30 AM ET

Key Earnings:
8 Aug 2016- AGN, DF, HZNP, TSN, ENDP, MCHP, NUAN, ONDK, NWSA, RAX, TWLO, WBMD
9 Aug 2016- CHTR, COH, INCY, LAMR, LNG, MYL, SNI, VRX, W, WWAV, ZBRA, CYBR, DIS, FOSL, JAZZ, MDVN, SCTY, SPWR, YELP
10 Aug 2016- JD, KORS, PRGO, RL, WEN, BUFF, SHAK
11 Aug 2016- BABA, EAT, FLO, CSAL, KSS, M, JWN, NVDA, RT
12 Aug 2016- JCP

Key Conferences:
8 Aug 2016- Credit Suisse Homebuilding & Building Products Conference (runs till 8/9)
9 Aug 2016- Credit Suisse Transports Conference (runs till 8/10); Jefferies Industrials Conference (runs till 8/11); JPMorgan Auto Conference (runs till 8/10); Oppenheimer Tech, Internet, and Communications Conference (runs till 8/10); UBS Financial Services Conference (runs till 8/10)

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July 10, 2016 The Week Ahead

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The S&P 500 is sitting just under all-time highs, at it gained 1.3% for the week. Some attribute Friday’s move to the June employment report, which showed an impressive number of 287,000 jobs. Now, with earnings season being the next catalyst, we’ll know soon enough if all-time highs can be broken.

The VIX got steamrolled on Friday, dropping more than 10.5% and closing at 13.20. Interestingly, bonds are near all-time highs despite lows in VIX. Not only that, but gold futures prices gained nearly 2% on the week. They too, are near yearly highs.

On the other hand, crude oil futures prices declined nearly 6% on the week. With that said, they’re hanging around $45 per barrel. They’re now more than 11% off their yearly highs.

As mentioned earlier, earnings season kicks off with Alcoa on the 11th. One of the first sectors reporting will be banking. With that said, we’ll be hearing from JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and PNC Bank to name a few.

Here is what is on tap for this upcoming week:

Key Economic Data:
13 July 2016- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET
14 July 2016- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET, PPI-FD 8:30 AM ET
15 July 2016- Consumer Price Index 8:30 AM ET, Retail Sales 8:30 ET, Industrial Production 9:15 AM ET

Key Earnings:
11 July 2016- AA, VOXX
12 July 2016- FAST, ADTN, AIR
13 July 2016- CSX, YUM
14 July 2016- BLK, JPM, PGR, AMD
15 July 2016- C, WFC, USB, FBR, PNC