Here are the 2 big things we're watching in the stock market in the week ahead

Earnings season is winding down, but a few stragglers in the portfolio are still left to report this week. There are also a few notable macroeconomic reports on the horizon. The common thread between this week's earnings and economic updates is the housing market and the health of the consumer. Let's get into it. 1. Housing: The most important updates on the housing market will come from the earnings reports and conference call commentary from Club name Home Depot , primary competitor Lowe's , and luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers . But that's not the only data on this important industry on tap this week. On Tuesday morning, we'll get both July housing starts from the Commerce Department and the National Association of Realtors' pending home sales report. Last month, housing starts increased 19% month over month, led entirely by multifamily units (like apartments), as single-family starts ticked down 0.2% on the month. June pending home sales, meanwhile, declined 5.4% last month, with NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun saying in a press release, "The highest mortgage rates in nearly a year and the record-high national median home price together are contributing to a tepid housing market that is especially difficult for first-time homebuyers." While the July releases are notable because housing punches above its weight in terms of economic contribution, we don't expect either to really move the stock market, given the housing industry's sluggishness is well documented at this point. Supply remains low and interest rates remain high, resulting in a one-two punch on affordability. Low supply amounts to higher home prices (and down payment requirements), while higher interest rates raise borrowing costs (and monthly payments). This adds up to one the worst housing markets in decades, as measured by housing starts and turnover. The low likelihood of surprises in these backward-looking reports explains why we're more focused on the real-time commentary from management teams on the ground. They're in the thick of it and speak to changes in behavior into August. Our primary focus will, of course, be Home Depot. It also helps that Home Depot will be the first to talk on Tuesday. Investors aren't exactly expecting a blowout quarter, given these housing dynamics and the fact that the stock is well below its highs earlier this year (though, we should note, it's had a nice bounce off its mid-May lows). Nevertheless, we're interested to see where management can make an impact despite the poor operating backdrop, and whether any improvement has been seen. In a note last week, analysts at Bank of America said Home Depot's elevated exposure to the Pro customer — relative to Lowe's — is expected to provide an offset to a weaker DIY customer. Accordingly, BofA expects Home Depot's comparable stores growth to outpace Lowe's for the remainder of the year. For their part, Morgan Stanley analysts said they expect Tuesday's Home Depot report to be largely uneventful, characterized by stability but absent from a meaningful recovery. For that, we'll need mortgage rates to go lower, simple as that. That's not in management's control, so we can't be too harsh on them, but that is the reality at the moment. The earnings release comes less than a week after Home Depot announced that CEO Ted Decker was taking a leave of absence. As Jim Cramer noted on the Monthly Meeting, we wish him well, and while we respect his privacy, we do believe the team needs to shed more light on the interim plan. What we know thus far is that Ann-Marie Campbell , senior VP of U.S. stores, and CFO Richard McPhail are jointly overseeing the CEO duties. Tariff refunds are expected to be another topic of conversation on the call. While we'll be grading the headline results excluding any profit boosts from the refunds, we are interested to hear what management's plans are for the money. As of Friday, the Street, according to estimates compiled by LSEG, is for revenue of $47.27 billion and earnings of $4.73 per share. 2. Consumer health: TJX Companies ' earnings release, out Wednesday morning, is what we'll be focused on. That said, we'll also be listening to what the management teams at Walmart and Ross Stores have to say on Thursday. Between these three, we should be able to walk away with a solid understanding of consumer dynamics and, importantly, if the teams are seeing any change in behavior, broadly, and across income cohorts. For TJX, we're always interested to hear about inventory selection available to the team, as the treasure hunt experience is second only to the team's ability to offer great value. Last time around, the company reported its fifth consecutive quarter of sales beats across all four operating segments, with strong same-store sales growth. We'll be looking for that momentum to continue. As a reminder, management tends to be conservative with their outlook. As a result, it's the call commentary that will really determine our thinking on the path ahead, even should the forecast come up a bit light. As of Friday, the Street, according to estimates compiled by LSEG, is for revenue of $15.18 billion and earnings of $1.19 per share. Week ahead Monday, August 17 Empire State manufacturing index at 8:30 a.m. ET Before the bell: H World Group (HTHT) After the bell: Fabrinet (FN), XP Inc (XP) Tuesday, August 18 Housing starts at 8:30 a.m. ET Import price index at 8:30 a.m. ET Before the bell: Home Depot (HD) , Baidu (BIDU), Klarna (KLAR), iQIYI (IQ) After the bell: Chemical & Mining (SQM), Keysight Technologies (KEYS), ZTO Express (ZTO), Toll Brothers (TOL) Wednesday, August 19 Federal Open Market Committee minutes at 2 p.m. ET Before the bell: TJX Companies (TJX), Analog Devices (ADI), Target (TGT), Estee Lauder (EL), Lowe's (LOW), ZIM Integrated (ZIM), Viking Holdings (VIK) After the bell: Coty (COTY) Thursday, August 20 Initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index at 8:30 a.m. ET Before the bell: Walmart (WMT), Alibaba (BABA), Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Deere & Co (DE), NetEase (NTES) After the bell: Ross Stores (ROST), Flowers Food (FLO) Friday, August 21 S & P Global manufacturing and services PMI at 9:45 a.m. ET Before the bell: BJ's Wholesale (BJ), KE Holdings (KE) After the bell: No reports of note (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long HD, TJX. 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