Looking ahead for this week, there are four key government and private sector reports I’ll be keeping an eye on, and you should place them on your agenda as well since they may provide the impetus for stock movement.

Wednesday

Housing Starts and Building Permits. The Commerce Department will release this monthly report that measures the number of residential units on which construction began in May. Building permits are permits issued in order to begin excavation. An increase in housing starts and building permits usually occurs a few months after a reduction in mortgage rates. This report is broken down by region.

Thursday

Initial Claims for Unemployment

. The Labor Department produces this report that details initial jobless applications. The report provides an indicator of the direction of the economy, with increases or decreases in claims that signal slowing or accelerating job growth.

Existing Home Sales. The National Association of Realtors will release its monthly report that measures sales of existing homes on the market in May. The report is a good indicator of activity in the housing sector. Aside from total sales, two other indicators are worth watching in this report: the inventory of homes for sale and the median price.

Index of Leading Economic Indicators. The Conference Board will release this monthly report for May that is a compilation of economic indicators including: jobless claims, money supply, new orders, building permits and stock prices. It is a good predictor of patterns in the economy.