|
Monday’s bond market has opened flat as investors take a breather after
Friday’s volatility. The stock markets are showing relatively minor losses
with the Dow down 36 points and the Nasdaq down 4 points. The bond market
is currently unchanged from Friday’s close, but that is a little higher
than Friday’s morning level when mortgage rates were posted. Bonds weakened
a little during afternoon trading, leading to some lenders to make upward
revisions to their rate sheets late Friday. Therefore, if your lender did
revise upward Friday afternoon, you will likely see little change in this
morning’s rates. On the other hand, if your lender did not, you should see
an increase of approximately .125 of a discount point.
There is nothing of relevance to mortgage rates scheduled for today. The
rest of the week brings us the release of three relevant economic reports,
in addition to a couple of Treasury auctions and the minutes from the last
FOMC meeting. Corporate earnings season also kicks off today with Alcoa
posting this afternoon. That report is usually a focal point because it is
the first Dow component to report earnings each quarter. There are other
companies scheduled to post this week that will also influence the markets
and broader economic theories, but AA is the first of the key earnings.
Generally speaking, weaker than expected reports hurt stock prices and make
bonds more attractive to investors.
Tomorrow also has nothing of importance scheduled for release. The first
events of the week will come Wednesday afternoon when we get the release of
the minutes from the last FOMC meeting and have one of the Treasury
auctions worth watching. Market participants will be looking at the minutes
closely as they give us insight to the Fed's current thought process and
individual Fed member opinions. The 10-year Treasury Note auction helps
gauge investor demand for longer-term securities, including
mortgage-related bonds.
Overall, look for the most movement in rates the latter part of the week,
particularly Friday with all three of this week’s economic reports coming
that day. The PPI and Retail Sales reports are considered highly important
monthly reports, both of which will be released early Friday. Also look for
the stock markets to influence bond trading and mortgage rates a good part
of the week as traders react to the earnings news, but I believe we will
see the most movement in rates the latter part. I am expecting it to be an
active week for the mortgage market, so please maintain 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... Lock if my closing was taking place between
21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from
now...
|
No comments:
Post a Comment