Retail Earnings, Fed Minutes in Focus Next Week

The earnings schedule thins out some in the upcoming week, but there are still a number of high-profile names on the list. The retail sector will likely be the primary focus, with a schedule that includes Dow stocks Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT). Notable names like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) and Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) will also report later in the week. 

The economic docket will draw some attention, too. Wall Street has a ton of data to sift through in the middle of the week, including the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) July meeting. 

Below is a brief list of some key market events scheduled for the upcoming week. All earnings dates listed below are tentative and subject to change. Please check with each company's respective website for official reporting dates.

The economic calendar is bare for Monday, Aug. 14. On the earnings front, Canadian Solar (CSIQ), JD.com (JD), and Sysco (SYY) will report.   

The economic data picks up on Tuesday, Aug. 15, with retail sales, import and export data, the Empire State manufacturing survey, business inventories, the NAHB housing market index, and Treasury International Capital (TIC) data all due. HD, Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Agilent (A), Coach (COH), Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS), Staples (SPLS), TJX (TJX), and Urban Outfitters (URBN) make up the earnings slate.

For Wednesday, Aug. 16, traders will digest the regularly scheduled update on crude inventories, housing starts, and the Fed's July meeting minutes. Cisco Systems (CSCO), American Eagle (AEO), L Brands (LB), NetApp (NTAP), and Target (TGT) will reveal all in the earnings booth. 

On Thursday, Aug. 17, weekly jobless claims will be released, along with the Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey and industrial production data. Plus, there will be speeches from Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari. Investors will hear earnings from WMT, Applied Materials (AMAT), BABA, Buckle (BKE), and Gap (GPS).

Finally, on Friday, Aug. 18, Kaplan will speak again, and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey will come out. DE, Estee Lauder (EL), and Foot Locker (FL) will close out the week's earnings reports.