Daily market update

Greetings! Here's your Daily Commentary report compliments of Alan Russell & Princeton Capital! Call me today for current rates and market information at (650) 947-2296.           Monday’s bond market has opened up slightly with no relevant economic data set for release today. The stock markets are fairly calm with the Dow up a mere 5 points and the Nasdaq up 7 points. The bond market is currently up 4/32, which with strength late Friday should improve this morning’s mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point if comparing to Friday’s morning pricing. There is nothing scheduled for release today that is likely to affect bond trading or mortgage rates. However, the rest of the week brings us seven pieces of economic data that are relevant to the bond and mortgage markets. There is at least one report scheduled each of the four remaining days and five over the last two days of the week. The key data starts tomorrow with the release of July's Retail Sales report by the Commerce Department. This data is very important to the financial and mortgage markets because it measures consumer spending at the retail establishments. Since consumer spending makes up over two-thirds of the U.S. economy, any data related to it can cause a fair amount of movement in the markets. A smaller than expected increase would indicate that consumers are spending less than previously thought, pointing towards slower economic growth. This is good news for the bond market and mortgage rates as it eases inflation concerns and makes long-term securities such as mortgage-related bonds more attractive to investors. Current forecasts are calling for an increase of 0.2% in sales. Overall, I am expecting tomorrow or Thursday to be the most important day of the week. Tomorrow’s Retail Sales report and Thursday's CPI are the two single most influential reports scheduled this week. Since consumer level inflation is not expected to be an immediate threat, I am leaning towards tomorrow as the day that we will see the most movement in mortgage rates. With so much going on this week, I strongly recommend maintaining contact with your mortgage professional if still floating an interest rate. If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now...       Alan Russell 161 South San Antonio Rd. | Los Altos, CA 95022 Ph: 650-947-2296 | Fax: 408-335-1118 alanrussell@princetoncap.com CLICK HERE TO STOP RECEIVING OUR REPORT