Thursday’s bond market has opened fairly strong following the release of weaker than expected economic data. The stock markets are showing modest gains after yesterday’s major sell-off. The Dow is currently up 3 points while the Nasdaq has gained 6 points. The bond market is currently up13/32, which will likely improve this morning’s mortgage rates by appro ximately .250 of a discount point despite yesterday’s late weakness.

The Labor Department reported early morning that 367,000 new claims for unemployment benefits were filed last week. This was much more than expected, but is being attributed to the partial government shut down in Puerto Rico. Approximately 46,000 new claims are being blamed on that event. Without those additional claims, the number would have been pretty close to forecasts.

April’s Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) was released by the Conference Board late this morning. This report attempts to measure economic activity over the next three to six months and indicated a decline in activity may be coming. The 0.1% drop in the index was weaker than the 0.1% rise that was expected. This is good news for the bond market and mortgage rates.

This morning’s speech by Fed Chairman Bernanke hasn’t affected the markets much. He did say that the cooling in the housing sector is moderate and e xpected. There has been no direct hint of the Fed’s next move regarding monetary policy. Former Chairman Alan Greenspan will speak to the Bond Market Association today, but I don’t expect his words to influence trading today.

There is no relevant economic data scheduled for release tomorrow, but Treasury Secretary John Snow will speak before the Bond Market Association mid-day. The New York Fed President will also be speaking, but I am not expecting either to cause noticeable changes in bond prices or mortgage rates.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would…. Float if my closing was taking place within 7 days… Float 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… This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best intere st of all/any other borrowers.

a la mode

 

 

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