The consumer side of the economy seems to be on the upswing and economists will be watching closely this week to see if business spending keeps pace.
That is why the durable-goods orders report for November will be the key release of the holiday-shortened week, analysts said.
Although highly volatile, durable-goods orders can give a sense of whether businesses are investing in machinery.
Orders for durable-goods fell a sharp 3.4% in October with widespread declines across sectors.
Factory activity has been positive this year, but has been on a somewhat softer growth path recently.
The Fed took note of the trend in the statement released after their policy meeting last week.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect durable-goods orders to fall 0.5% in November.
A decline in aircraft orders may be the culprit for the November decline and as a result, economists will be paying more attention to orders excluding transportation goods.
Analysts expect a partial rebound in orders excluding transportation after a sharp 4.3% decline in October.
The Commerce Department will release the durable-goods data on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
Other data for November in the week are expected to show strong consumer spending and gains in home sales, albeit at low levels.
Consumer spending for November is projected to show a strong 0.4% gain, after the solid retail sales report released last week. Income is expected to rise 0.2%.
The income and spending report will also be released at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.
The reports on housing are expected to show some stability in November
Existing home sales are expected to rise 8.4% to 4.80 million after a 2.2% fall in October. The National Association of Realtors will release the existing-home sales data at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
New-homes sales are expected to rise 2.5% to 290,000 in November following a 8.1% fall in October.
The government will release the new-home sales report at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday.
The government will also release the third and final revision to the third-quarter gross domestic product. Stronger-than-expected inventory building in September is expected to boost GDP to a 2.8% rate from the prior estimate of a 2.5% gain
