Daily market commentary

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.         Thursday’s bond market initially opened in positive territory but has quickly fallen into negative ground. The stock markets are showing early losses with the Dow down 52 points and the Nasdaq down 15 points. The bond market is currently down 6/32, but I don’t believe we will see much of a change in mortgage rates if comparing to yesterday’s post-FOMC pricing. What initially looked to be a good morning for mortgage rates was erased when a regional manufacturing report from the Chicago area came in with surprisingly strong numbers. We don’t usually pay too much attention to regional reports as they often have little influence on national mortgage rates. However, this morning’s surprise spike that indicates much stronger than expected manufacturing growth in that region caused bonds to give back their early morning gains that were likely to improve today’s pricing. Today’s unemployment update had little impact on the markets. The Labor Department announced early this morning that 340,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week. This was a decline from the previous week’s total of 350,000 but slightly higher than the 335,000 that was forecasted. That was not enough of a variance to cause much alarm or excitement in the bond market, meaning it had little influence on this morning’s mortgage rates. Tomorrow does have a key economic report scheduled to be released. It will come from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), who will post their manufacturing index for October at 10:00 AM ET. This index measures manufacturer sentiment, which is important because it gives us an indication of manufacturing sector strength or weakness. It is considered to be one of the more important reports we see each month, partly because it is the first report every month that tracks the preceding month's activity. Tomorrow's release is expected to show a reading of 55.0, indicating that manufacturer sentiment slipped from September's level of 56.2. This means fewer surveyed business executives felt business improved during the month than in September, hinting at manufacturing sector weakness. A smaller than expected reading would be good news for bonds and mortgage rates, especially if it drops below the benchmark 50.0. 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... Lock 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