Wall Street Enters Big Week With Walmart, Target Earnings and Fed’s Jackson Hole Meeting Ahead
Wall Street begins the week of August 17 with stocks still hovering near record territory but showing early signs of strain, after a surprisingly weak July retail sales report and a softening jobs picture combined to pull major indexes down slightly to end last week — setting up a heavy stretch of retail earnings and the Federal Reserve’s closely watched Jackson Hole symposium later this month.
Where Markets Stand Heading Into the Week
The S&P 500 touched a fresh record high during the week of August 10-14 before pulling back slightly Friday, closing out the week down about 0.2% on the day but still notching its third consecutive weekly gain, according to Yahoo Finance. The Nasdaq Composite similarly slipped about 0.3% Friday while still eking out a small gain for the week, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% on the day.
Beneath the headline numbers, the rally has been broadening beyond just the largest technology names. According to CNBC, the Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks touched all-time highs three separate times during the week — a sign, according to Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, that tends to imply favorable price performance for the following several months. “I cover the waterfront in terms of new all time highs, and that tends to imply favorable price performances for the next several months,” Stovall told CNBC. “Likely through the end of the year.”
Why Friday’s Retail Sales Report Rattled Confidence
The week’s most consequential piece of economic data arrived Friday, when the Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales fell 0.6% in July — a surprising decline that far exceeded the 0.2% increase economists had expected, according to Charles Schwab’s market commentary. The drop partly reflected lower gas prices and falling car sales, but still landed as a notably weaker reading than forecast.
Collin Martin, head of fixed income research and strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, cautioned against overreacting to a single data point while still acknowledging the report’s significance. “The retail sales report came in much softer than expected,” Martin said. “Combined with the relatively soft jobs report, it may make people worry about a softening economy, but one month doesn’t make a trend.”
That “soft jobs report” reference points to the prior week’s Labor Department release, which CNBC’s week-ahead outlook described as showing “a shocking loss of” jobs — continuing a pattern of increasingly mixed labor market signals that has complicated the broader economic narrative even as stocks have continued climbing to new highs.
Consumer Discretionary Stocks Are Feeling the Pressure
The retail sales miss carries particular relevance given what’s on this week’s earnings calendar. According to CNBC, of the 11 major S&P 500 stock sectors, consumer discretionary is one of only two sectors down for the year so far, with companies reliant on discretionary consumer spending facing pressure from stubbornly high inflation and gasoline prices that remain roughly $1 per gallon higher than before the Iran war began.
This Week’s Retail Earnings Slate
Several of the country’s largest retailers are scheduled to report earnings for the quarter ended July 31 this week, offering a more granular read on consumer health than last week’s aggregate retail sales figure alone. According to CNBC, that lineup includes Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and TJX. Investors are likely to parse these reports closely for signs of whether Friday’s national retail sales miss reflects a broader pullback in consumer spending or a more narrow, temporary dip tied specifically to gas prices and auto sales.
What Else Is on the Calendar This Week
Beyond retail earnings, the week’s economic calendar includes several notable data points, according to CNBC’s outlook: the Empire State Index for August is due Monday at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed by additional housing and manufacturing data throughout the week, including July housing starts, building permits, and industrial production figures due Tuesday, alongside earnings from Home Depot, Baidu, and Toll Brothers.
Oil and Geopolitical Risk Remain in the Background
Energy markets added another layer of uncertainty heading into the new week. According to Bloomberg, Brent crude rose as much as 0.5% toward $89 a barrel Sunday night as traders weighed renewed Israeli strikes on Lebanon — Israel said it killed 11 people, including a senior Hezbollah commander, in one of the deadliest days of fighting in the region in months — alongside the prospect of fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran and the formal expiration of a ceasefire due Monday.
Looking Further Ahead: Jackson Hole and Nvidia
Two major catalysts loom just beyond this week’s immediate calendar. The Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole economic policy symposium is scheduled for August 27-29, an event closely watched for signals about the central bank’s rate path heading into its September meeting. According to Charles Schwab, the Cboe Volatility Index fell to new 2026 lows below 14.4 during the prior week — a low reading that implies markets currently see little need for downside protection, though Schwab’s commentary noted “it wouldn’t be surprising to see that change” as Jackson Hole approaches.
Nvidia’s earnings report, scheduled for August 26, also looms as a major catalyst given the chipmaker’s outsized influence on broader market sentiment around AI infrastructure spending.
How This Earnings Season Has Performed Overall
The broader corporate earnings picture heading into this week has remained strong even amid the softer economic data. According to Charles Schwab, as of late the prior week, 455 of 500 S&P 500 companies had reported second-quarter results, with 87% beating analysts’ earnings-per-share estimates and 68% exceeding revenue estimates — figures consistent with FactSet’s earlier projection that S&P 500 firms would post roughly 50% year-over-year earnings growth for the quarter.
FAQ
How did the S&P 500 perform last week? It touched a fresh record high before pulling back slightly Friday, ending the week down about 0.2% on the day but still posting its third consecutive weekly gain.
Why did retail sales come as a surprise? July retail sales fell 0.6%, far below the 0.2% increase economists had expected, driven partly by lower gas prices and falling car sales.
Which major retailers report earnings this week? Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and TJX are all scheduled to report results for the quarter ended July 31.
What is the Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium, and when is it? An annual economic policy conference closely watched for signals about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path, scheduled for August 27-29, 2026, ahead of the Fed’s September rate decision.
When does Nvidia report earnings? August 26, 2026 — a closely watched report given the company’s significant influence on broader AI-related market sentiment.
Conclusion
This week’s heavy slate of retail earnings will offer the clearest test yet of whether Friday’s surprisingly weak retail sales report reflects genuine cracks in consumer spending or just a one-month blip tied to falling gas and auto sales. With markets still near record highs but volatility measures sitting at multi-year lows, and both the Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium and Nvidia’s earnings report still ahead later this month, this week’s data from Walmart, Target, and their peers is likely to shape how confidently investors carry the current rally into the more consequential catalysts still to come.
Sources: CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg, Charles Schwab (reporting dated August 13-17, 2026).