Rate Lock Advisory

Tuesday, April 8th

Tuesday’s bond market has opened well in negative ground as funds shift back into stocks. The major stock indexes are showing significant gains, pushing the Dow higher by 1,363 points and the Nasdaq up 689 points. The bond market is currently down 20/32 (4.25%) on top of weakness yesterday afternoon. Both sets of losses should lead to this morning’s mortgage rates being higher than Monday’s early pricing by approximately .375 of a discount point. If you saw an intraday increase late yesterday, you will likely see a smaller increase this morning.

20/32

Bonds

30 yr - 4.25%

1,363

Dow

39,329

689

NASDAQ

16,292

Mortgage Rate Trend

Trailing 90 Days - National Average

  • 30 Year Fixed
  • 15 Year Fixed
  • 5/1 ARM

Indexes Affecting Rate Lock

Medium

Negative

Stock Influences

We don’t have any relevant economic data set for release today. Today’s stock gains are driving bond yields and mortgage pricing higher this morning. This week’s reports begin Thursday morning with the release of the highly important Consumer Price Index (CPI). In lieu economic news, we have more stock movement and a Fed-member speech at 2:00 PM ET. Don’t be surprised to see some volatility in the financial markets throughout the day, but it shouldn’t be anywhere near the level we saw yesterday.

Medium

Negative

Treasury Auctions (5,7,10,20,30 year)

Tomorrow has two afternoon events scheduled that we will be watching. First will be the results of the 10-year Treasury Note auction at 1:00 PM ET. A strong demand from investors would be good news for bonds and mortgage rates. It will be interesting to see if investors are drawn to the securities out of concern about a potential recession and stock losses, or if worries about inflation will keep them away. This scenario will be repeated Thursday afternoon when 30-year Bonds are sold.

Medium

Unknown

FOMC Meeting Minutes

The second event of the day will be the release of the minutes from last month’s FOMC meeting. Market participants will be looking at them closely as they give us insight of the Fed's current thought process and individual Fed member opinions regarding future monetary policy moves, particularly when they may start lowering key rates again. Any surprises in the 2:00 PM ET release could cause afternoon volatility in the markets tomorrow with possible changes in mortgage pricing.

Float / Lock Recommendation

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... Lock 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 interest of all/any other borrowers.