Coming Week: Can the Levee Hold?

"The home sales numbers are going to be the ones people focus in on, because that's still the root of all evil at this point," says Nolte. "Any type of news, especially good news, will be welcome."

Thursday brings three separate reports on durable goods orders for August, weekly initial jobless claims, and new home sales for August. Durable goods orders are expected to have declined 1.3% last month, while new home sales are expected to have increased slightly to 518,000 units from 515,000 units.

On Friday, the highlight of the economic docket is the final read on second-quarter gross domestic product, which is expected to increase a bit to 3.4% from the last reading, which was 3.3%. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for September will also come due.

In addition to the two housing-related economic reports, a couple of homebuilders will be out with quarterly earnings results during the week. Lennar (LEN Quote) is set to report Tuesday, with analysts expecting the company to post a loss that narrowed from a year ago, and KB Home (KBH Quote) will release results Friday.

Among the tech companies set to report earnings this week, the spotlight will shine brightest on Research In Motion (RIMM Quote) when it posts quarterly results after Thursday's close. Accenture (ACN Quote), 3Com (COMS Quote), Red Hat (RHT Quote) and Tibco Software (TIBX Quote) are all also set to deliver results.

Several retailers are also set to report quarterly results, including AutoZone (AZN Quote), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY Quote), Rite Aid (RAD Quote) and Finish Line (FINL Quote).

Monday will also bring a change to the Dow's makeup, when Kraft Foods (KFT Quote) replaces component AIG, leaving the index underweighted in financials following the recent turmoil in the stock market. The move marks the second time in 2008 changes have been made to the Dow's component list.

1 What would best describe your stance heading into the coming week of trading? Bullish Bearish Neutral 2 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move up in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities 3 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move down in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities View the results without voting