Walmart, Home Depot Earnings Test Consumer Strength This Week

Retail earnings, housing data, and the Federal Reserve's May meeting minutes will dominate the week ahead. The reports arrive at a moment when the U.S. consumer's resilience is under renewed scrutiny after two straight months of softer retail-sales figures.

Home Depot reports Monday, followed by Walmart, Lowe's, and Analog Devices on Tuesday. Target and TJX Companies post Wednesday, along with Nvidia. Ross Stores rounds out the retail calendar Thursday. The group's results will show whether household spending held up through late spring, a question that has gained urgency as credit-card debt and delinquencies edge higher.

Housing data runs from the NAHB Housing Market Index Monday through building permits, housing starts, existing-home sales, pending home sales, and mortgage applications. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate has stayed above 6.8% since April, Freddie Mac data show. Builders have cited financing costs as the biggest constraint on new projects. Single-family starts have been flat or declining for four months.

The FOMC releases minutes from its May 3-4 meeting Wednesday. The committee held the federal-funds rate at 5.25%-5.50%, and Chair Jerome Powell said the next move was unlikely to be a hike. The minutes will show how many members favored waiting for more data before the first cut. CME Group's FedWatch tool prices roughly a 50% chance of a quarter-point reduction in September.

Manufacturing readings include the New York Fed's Empire State index, the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index, and the preliminary S&P Global composite PMI. Industrial production data for April is also due.

The Rosenblatt 6th Annual Tech Summit opens Monday and runs two days under the theme "The Age of AI – The Mother of All Cycles." Speakers include executives from AMD, Cisco, Arista Networks, Lumentum, and Fortinet. The conference will focus on AI infrastructure spending and the chip-supply chain. No major product launches are expected, forward guidance from panel discussions has in prior years moved shares of smaller semiconductor-equipment and networking names.

Walmart shares closed Friday at $115.27, down 0.39%, and carry an Alpha Score of 52 (Mixed). TJX scored 51 (Mixed), and Analog Devices 53 (Mixed). The scores reflect neutral near-term signals across the sector.

The S&P 500 sits 2.1% above its 50-day moving average, about midway through its post-March range. Sector breadth has narrowed in May, with technology and communication services accounting for most of the index's advance.

Through Friday's close, the S&P 500 sat 2.1% above its 50-day moving average, about midway through its post-March range. Sector breadth narrowed in May, with technology and communication services accounting for most of the index's advance.