Monday, December 28, 2009

Market Update

Monday's bond market has opened in negative territory following minor gains in stocks. The stock markets are starting the week in positive ground, but not by much. The Dow is currently up 12 points while the Nasdaq has gained 4 points. The bond market is currently down 8/32, which will likely push this morning's mortgage rates higher by approximately .250 of a discount point compared to Thursday's morning rates.
There is no relevant news scheduled for release today, leaving the stock markets to heavily influence bond trading and mortgage rates. If the major stock indexes remain near current levels, I suspect that bond prices and mortgage rates will follow suit today.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Market UPDate

Monday's bond market has opened in positive territory, recovering part of Friday's sell-off. The stock markets are showing modest gains with the Dow up 20 points and the Nasdaq up 3 points. The bond market is currently up 8/32, which should improve this morning's mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point from Friday's morning rates.

This week is fairly light in terms of the number of economic releases scheduled for release. There are only three on the agenda but one of them is considered to be very important and can heavily influence the markets and mortgage pricing. In addition, there are two Treasury auctions the middle part of the week that may hurt or help boost bond prices, depending on how strong of a demand there is for the sales. Since all of the relevant data is scheduled for release Thursday and Friday, the most movement in rates will likely be the middle or latter part of the week.