April 12th, 2019 10:31 AM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 4/12/19Friday's bond market has opened well in negative territory despite weaker than expected results in today's sole U.S. economic release. The major stock indexes are showing early strength, pushing the Dow up 180 points and the Nasdaq up 21 points. The bond market is currently down 12/32 (2.54%), which should cause an increase in this morning's mortgage rates of approximately .125 of a discount point.Yesterday's 30-year bond auction went pretty well but not as good as Wednesday's 10-year note sale did. Some of the benchmarks we use to gauge investor demand showed a decent level of interest in the securities while others were not as strong. The bond market had little reaction after results were posted at 1:00 PM ET, making it a non-factor in yesterday afternoon's mortgage rates.There were a couple of overseas economic releases last night that were not favorable for bonds in general. Coupled with news that the European Union granted Britain more time to come up with an exit plan that may not be so economically disruptive as a rough break away has many market participants more optimistic about the global economy this morning. Because bonds tend to thrive in weaker economic conditions, bond yields and mortgage rates are higher this morning.Today's sole relevant economic report was the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for April at 10:00 AM ET. It came in at 96.9, falling short of expectations. Analysts were expecting to see a reading of 98.0, meaning surveyed consumers felt less optimistic about their own financial situations than thought. This was a decline from last month's 98.4. Accordingly, we can label this report as good news for the bond and mortgage markets. Unfortunately, the report doesn't carry enough significance to offset the negative momentum from overnight.Next week has a handful of economic reports that may influence mortgage rates with one of them considered to be highly important. The rest are moderately important or labeled minor releases. There is nothing of relevance set for Monday, meaning we can expect weekend news or stock movement to drive bond trading and mortgage pricing. Look for details on next week's calendar in Sunday evening's weekly preview.If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would....Lock if my closing were taking place within 7 days...Lock if my closing were taking place between 8 and 20 days...Float if my closing were taking place between 21 and 60 days...Float if my closing were taking place over 60 days from now...This is only my opinion of what I would do if I was financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.**http://www.hlmcolorado.com/DailyRateAdvisory
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