There are plenty of important pieces of economic data that will be released in the markets this week. Some of the main updates include weekly jobless claims, manufacturing and services data, existing home sales updates, and earnings results for major consumer companies.
1. Additional Federal Reserve Discourse
The Federal Reserve will release its July FOMC meeting minutes on Wednesday at 2 p.m ET.
This will be one of the most crucial pieces of information released this week, as rate hikes are one of the main hot topics in the markets at the moment.
Inflation recently rose to 3.4% YoY in July, largely due to the reduced shock of energy prices during that month.1
US Inflation Rate
The Federal Reserve previously voted 9-3 to leave rates unchanged during its last policy meeting.2
Equities have rallied strongly recently due to the reduced fear of rate hikes and energy price shocks. However, inflationary risks have heated up in recent days as oil prices have risen considerably in the past week.
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2. Jobless Claims
Jobless claims have continued to rise in recent weeks, most recently exceeding the weekly average by 10,000.3
New weekly jobless claims data will be released on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Although the labor market has remained relatively healthy, this is still an important metric to monitor in the coming months.
Additional weaker labor market data could also support the Fed’s ongoing decision to delay rate hikes for the time being.4
Gold mining equities may also continue to respond to labor market data, as they have in recent weeks. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF has rallied by 18% over the past month amid economic and geopolitical fears.
3. Services and Manufacturing Data
S&P will release new flash services and manufacturing PMI data on Friday at 9:45 a.m ET. While data from July was very strong, exceeding analysts’ expectations, this is still an important area to monitor as supply-side and inflationary risks linger.
Recent sources of growth have been mixed, as stronger consumer spending and AI-related investments helped support growth in Q2 2026.5 However, there is still a lot of uncertainty in other manufacturing sectors, and the United States’ exports have been facing pressure amid new geopolitical risks.
Another important piece of broad macro data to monitor is the US leading indicators, which will be released at 10:00 a.m ET on Thursday. This data includes a health check on leading economic and financial indicators, including S&P 500 performance, real estate data, labor market data, and new manufacturing orders.
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4. Real Estate Updates
Investors should also keep an eye on new data in the real estate industry. Existing home sales fell to a new low in July, and the market is beginning to display signs of a cooldown.6
There will be a wide variety of new data released that impacts the industry, including the following:
- NAHB Housing Market Index released at 10:00 a.m ET on Monday
- Housing starts released on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m ET
- Pending home sales released on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m ET
Be sure to monitor real estate ETFs like the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ), which could experience some volatility this week.
5. Earnings Updates
This week will also be an eventful earnings release week for major consumer companies, including Home Depot, Lowe’s Corporation, Target, and Walmart.
| Company | Earnings Release |
| Home Depot | Tuesday August 18th before the market opens |
| Lowe’s Corporation | Wednesday August 19th before the market opens |
| Target | Wednesday August 19th before the market opens |
| Walmart | Thursday August 20th before the market opens |
Earnings results from these companies will provide more data about consumer health, inflationary risks, and overall sentiment in the US economy.
Consumer discretionary and staples stocks could be some of the strongest market movers this week if these earnings releases are eventful. Keep a close eye on ETFs like the Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) and the Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF (VDX).
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