|
Monday’s bond market has opened fairly flat following the three plus day
holiday weekend. This morning’s economic data was good news for the bond
market but weaker than expected reports that were posted Friday when the
markets were closed are limiting this morning’s improvements. The stock
markets are also having an uneventful morning with the Dow up 6 points and
the Nasdaq down 11 points. The bond market is currently up 1/32, which may
lead to a very slight improvement to mortgage rates if comparing to
Thursday’s pricing.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) gave us today’s only relevant
economic data with the release of their manufacturing index for March. They
announced a reading of 51.3 late this morning that was noticeably lower
than forecasts of 54.0 and February’s 54.2. This indicates that fewer
surveyed manufacturers felt business improved during the month than did in
February, hinting at manufacturing sector weakness. The reading remained
above the benchmark growth indicator of 50.0, but is very close to falling
below that level. Therefore, we should consider this data favorable for the
bond market and mortgage rates.
Tomorrow’s only relevant data is February's Factory Orders at 10:00 AM ET.
This Commerce Department report is similar to last week's Durable Goods
Orders report, except it includes orders for both durable and non-durable
goods. It will give us another measurement of manufacturing sector
strength, but is one of the week’s less important reports. Unless it varies
greatly from forecasts of a 2.5% increase, I suspect that it will be a
non-factor in the mortgage market tomorrow.
Overall, Friday is the biggest day of the week due to the significance of
the monthly Employment report and its impact on most of the financial
markets and mortgage rates. The middle part of the week should be
relatively calm unless something unexpected happens overseas or in the
stock movements. However, we can see the markets change quickly any day, so
please proceed cautiously if still floating an interest rate and closing in
the near future.
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...
|
No comments:
Post a Comment