3 Economic Reports That Could Shake Your Portfolio This Week: August 25-29, 2025

Markets brace for impact as three key reports threaten to rewrite portfolio valuations.

GDP Revision: The Ghost of Growth Past

Second-quarter numbers get their final tweak—because apparently two previous estimates weren't enough confusion for traders.

Consumer Confidence: The Mood Meter

Watch how Americans feel about spending money they might not have—because nothing says 'healthy economy' like optimism fueled by credit card debt.

Jobless Claims: The Employment Pulse

Weekly unemployment data drops like a micromanager's surprise meeting—sudden, annoying, and potentially ruinous for your short-term positions.

Smart money's already positioning—while the rest of us cross fingers and hope the algos don't throw another tantrum.

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The S&P 500 logged a five-day losing streak through Thursday, ripe with wild intraday swings amid surging investor anxiety. Despite an outstanding earnings season, the AI-driven rally came under fire again as leading tech stocks’ lofty valuations came into focus. Broad tech sector slid, led by megacaps and semiconductor names, as markets wavered awaiting the crucial speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole – viewed by many as the “make or break” moment for the rally.

Throughout the down streak, headlines were flashing a “rotation” narrative, with investors taking interest in defensive trades along profitable – and slower-growing – names trading at more sustainable multiples, driving DJIA’s outperformance over that period. However, some analysts warned that it is too early to call a change, because the traditional anti-bull sign – outperformance of consumer staples – was visibly missing over the red market days, while the VIX index remained at historically low levels. These and other signals prompted Goldman Sachs to advise buying the dip in momentum stocks.

Friday has shown that these bullish voices were right, as investors rushed in to buy the dip – even where a dip had not meaningfully occurred – after Powell signaled a potential change in monetary policy. While the Fed Chair didn’t commit to rate cuts outright, noting that “short-term risks to inflation are on the upside,” he acknowledged that the balance of risks was shifting in a way that “may warrant” less restrictive monetary policy. Stock markets interpreted this as a green light to keep the rally going.

Three Economic Reports

Here are three key economic reports that could affect your portfolio this week. For a full listing of additional economic reports, check out the TipRanks Economic Calendar.

(second estimate) – Thursday, 08/28 – This report will provide a refined insight into the economy’s growth in the second quarter, incorporating additional data that wasn’t available for the advance estimate. The advance estimate showed that real GDP expanded at a 3% annualized rate. While the second estimate is expected to remain unchanged, revisions are possible as more complete data is factored in.

– Friday, 08/29 – This report tracks changes in inflation based on consumer spending, excluding volatile items such as food and energy. The Federal Reserve considers the annualized Core PCE Price Index its preferred inflation gauge.

and(preliminary readings) – Friday, 08/29 – These reports summarize consumer confidence and long-term inflation expectations in the United States. Consumer confidence impacts spending, which accounts for roughly 70% of U.S. GDP. The inflation expectations component is closely monitored by policymakers and is factored into the Federal Reserve’s Index of Inflation Expectations.