What To Expect in the Markets This Week

Several large retailers highlight this week’s slate of scheduled earnings reports. Investors will also be reviewing housing market data for April and paying attention to a lineup of Federal Reserve officials speaking after a week when the major U.S. indexes logged gains.

Home Depot (HD), Lowe’s Cos. (LOW), Target (TGT), TJX Cos. (TJX), Ross Stores (ROST) and Ralph Lauren (RL) are among the retailers on this week’s earnings calendar. Market watchers are also expected to hear from Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Snowflake (SNOW), Ryanair (RYAAY), and Intuit (INTU). 

Several Fed officials are scheduled to speak amid mounting pressure from President Donald Trump for the central bank to act on interest rates. The speakers include Fed. Governor Michelle Bowman and New York Fed President John Williams.

Monday, May 19

• U.S. leading economic indicators (April)
• Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, and New York Fed President Williams are scheduled to speak
• Trip.com (TCOM) and Ryanair are scheduled to report earnings
• Computex Taipei event continues from start Sunday night U.S. time

Tuesday, May 20

• Atlanta Fed President Bostic, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, and St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem are scheduled to speak
• Home Depot, Palo Alto Networks, Keysight Technologies (KEYS), Viking Holdings (VIK), and Toll Brothers (TOL) are scheduled to report earnings

Wednesday, May 21

• Federal Reserve Gov. Bowman and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin are scheduled to speak
• TJX, Lowe’s, Medtronic (MDT). Snowflake, Target, Baidu (BIDU), Zoom Communications (ZM), and XPeng (XPEV) are scheduled to report earnings

Thursday, May 22

• Initial jobless claims (Week ending May 17)
• S&P Global flash U.S. Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) (May)
• Existing home sales (April)
• New York Fed President Williams is scheduled to speak
• Intuit, Toronto Dominion Bank (TD), Analog Devices (ADI), Workday (WDAY), Autodesk (ADSK), Copart (CPRT), Ross Stores, and Ralph Lauren are scheduled to report earnings
  

Friday, May 23

• New home sales (April)
• Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) is scheduled to report earnings

Retail Chain Reports in Focus Amid Tariff Questions

Investors will watch retail earnings for signs of consumer weakening amid reports of declining sentiment and concerns that tariffs could drive prices higher. Several noteworthy tech, travel, and medical companies are also on this week’s calendar. 

Home Depot’s scheduled report for Tuesday comes after the hardware retailer’s weaker-than-expected outlook in the previous quarter, even as its quarterly results topped analyst estimates. The home improvement giant said it expected to grow sales by 2.8% in 2025, lower than the 3.27% expected from analysts tracking the company, who are surveyed by Visible Alpha, while its expected comparable store sales growth below 1% also undershot estimates.

Rival hardware seller Lowe’s expected report the following day comes after it too delivered better-than-expected quarterly sales, but its guidance for 2025 came in under Visible Alpha estimates. 

The expected report from Target on Wednesday comes after it warned in early March that uncertainty around tariffs could weigh on its current-quarter earnings, even as the retailer posted comparable store sales results above projections at 1.5% in the most recent quarter. Discount retailer TJX’s scheduled Wednesday report comes as the TJ Maxx parent also delivered a disappointing outlook for the quarter just ended, while rival discount chain Ross Stores is on Thursday’s calendar along with fashion brand Ralph Lauren. 

Cybersecurity provider Palo Alto Networks is expected to report on Tuesday after its last quarterly results were boosted by AI adoption, including cloud investment and infrastructure modernization. Cloud software provider Snowflake’s report, scheduled for Wednesday, comes as it also reported strong results on demand for AI products in the prior period. 

International travel service provider Trip.com and Irish airline Ryanair are on Monday’s corporate calendar, which, along with Tuesday’s report from cruise line Viking, will give investors insight into consumer travel demand. 

Investors will also be following Wednesday’s expected release from XPeng, a Chinese electric vehicle maker that competes with Tesla (TSLA) in that country. Other noteworthy reports this week include homebuilder Toll Brothers on Tuesday, medical device maker Medtronic on Wednesday, and tax software provider Intuit on Thursday. 

Fed Speakers Scheduled as Central Bank Faces Pressure on Rates

Several Federal Reserve officials will speak this week, shortly after President Trump criticized the central bank’s decisions to keep interest rates unchanged. The Fed has said it is monitoring the economic impact of tariffs as it reviews incoming data on inflation and the labor market. 

An Atlanta Federal Reserve event on Monday and Tuesday will feature Fed Vice Chair Jefferson, Atlanta Fed President Bostic, Dallas Fed President Logan, San Francisco Fed President Daly, and Cleveland Fed President Hammack. Federal Reserve Gov. Bowman and New York Fed President Williams are among other Fed representatives expected to appear this week. 

Market watchers will be tuned in to home-seller data this week, as reports for existing and new home sales are expected. The data comes as home sales have been sluggish amid high interest rates and challenging inventory.

Investors are also expected to focus on jobless-claim numbers on Thursday, while the S&P Global flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) will provide an early look at how the manufacturing and services sectors are faring so far in May.