Wall Street awaits new home-builder sales data and weekly jobless claims report

Wall Street’s focus this week centers on two key data releases scheduled for Thursday. The government will publish the August figures for newly-built home sales, covering both completed homes and sales contracts for properties still being built, a separate metric from the existing-home sales report. Economists expect a slight uptick in new-home sales, which would contrast with the decline seen in the existing-home market for the same month.

Rising mortgage rates and higher home prices have kept pressure on the broader housing sector, a trend linked to higher long-term bond yields driven by elevated oil prices amid the U.S. conflict with Iran. In parallel, the weekly unemployment claims report will be released, offering a proxy for recent layoffs. Claims have remained in a historically low range, indicating continued labor-market resilience despite inflation-driven challenges for consumers and businesses.