December 1st, 2017 2:38 PM by T. Fanning
Last Updated: 12/1/17positive territory as the tax reform issue takes centerstage in the markets. Stocks are showing moderate losses of 59 points in the Dow and 22 points in the Nasdaq. The bond market is currently up 8/32 (2.38%), but we still should see an increase in this morning's mortgage rates of slightly less than .125 of a discount point. This is because this morning's positive reaction is not quite as strong as yesterday's negative move.We saw bonds tank yesterday afternoon as rumors spread that the Senate was going forward with a tax reform vote. Since it appeared there was enough support for it to pass, the bond market reacted negatively. Then, as we have seen many times with political-related swings, the outlook changed last night. The consensus swung to the opinion it may not pass in its current form after all. We saw a good part of yesterday's negative move unwind during overnight trading, causing a positive open for the bond market this morning. It is still being reported that a vote may take place today, so this volatility may not be over with yet and we could still see another mortgage rates revision before the end of the day.Today's only important economic release was November's Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index at 10:00 AM ET. It came in at 58.2, down from October's 58.7 but nearly matching expectations. The decline means fewer surveyed manufacturing executives felt business conditions improved during the month than did last month. Because that is a sign of slower manufacturing activity, it is technically good news for bonds and mortgage rates. However, since it didn't reveal a surprise reading either way, it has had little influence on this morning's mortgage pricing.Next week has a couple of things that may heavily influence mortgage rates, including the highly important monthly Employment report. Compared to this week, there is much less being released or taking place, but we still should see plenty of movement in the markets and mortgage rates. The week does have something happening Monday- the release of October's Factory Orders report. This is only a moderately important release. Look for details on all of 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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