NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 11:43 ET — Regular session
- Home Depot shares were down about 0.6% in late morning trading as housing-linked stocks eased.
- New U.S. data showed home-price growth cooling, while a key measure of contract signings jumped in November.
- Investors are watching the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes later Tuesday for clues on the 2026 rate path.
Home Depot (HD.N) shares fell 0.6% to $345.48 in late morning trading on Tuesday, extending a choppy run for housing-linked retailers as investors weighed fresh housing indicators and a key Federal Reserve update due later in the day.
The move matters now because Home Depot’s sales tend to track housing activity and household confidence. When mortgage rates and home turnover shift, so does demand for big-ticket projects and contractor work.
Markets are also in a year-end stretch where small changes in rate expectations can swing rate-sensitive stocks. The Fed’s minutes — the detailed record of its last policy meeting — were due at 2 p.m. ET.
On the housing front, new government data showed U.S. home prices rose 1.7% in October from a year earlier, the slowest annual gain since March 2012, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said. Prices rose 0.4% in October from September.
A separate gauge pointed to a pickup in buyer interest. The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index — a forward-looking measure based on signed contracts — jumped 3.3% in November from October and rose 2.6% from a year earlier. “Homebuyer momentum is building,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. NAR said existing-home sales for December are due January 14 and the next pending home sales report is scheduled for January 21, both at 10 a.m. ET. National Association of REALTORS®
For Home Depot investors, the mixed housing signals sharpen the focus on whether improving affordability translates into spending on renovations and repairs, or whether consumers stay cautious on discretionary projects.
Home Depot earlier this month forecast fiscal 2026 comparable sales — sales at stores open at least a year — to be flat to up 2%, and adjusted earnings per share to range from flat to 4% higher, according to a Reuters report, with both figures below analysts’ expectations.
The Fed minutes are one of the next catalysts. Investors are parsing them for how firmly policymakers want to keep borrowing costs restrictive after the central bank cut rates a quarter point to a 3.50%–3.75% range at its December meeting, with three officials dissenting, Reuters reported.
Home improvement peers were also lower. Lowe’s (LOW.N) fell 0.6%, while Masco (MAS.N) eased 0.3% and paintmaker Sherwin-Williams (SHW.N) slipped 0.2%.
The broader market was subdued near the end of the year, with renewed pressure in parts of big tech keeping investors cautious, Reuters reported.
Traders are watching whether the Fed minutes move Treasury yields — which feed into mortgage rates — and whether housing data in early January confirms improving turnover, a key driver for contractor demand and home-improvement spending.
Home Depot’s next major company update is expected with its quarterly results; Wall Street Horizon lists February 24, 2026, before market open, as an unconfirmed date for the next earnings report.
