Friday 2/22/08

There is no scheduled economic report set to release today.  As such, the stock market and news headlines will cause market movements today.

Mortgage rates opened in negative territory but have battled back currently.

We are basically unchanged day over day.  Still, certain lenders rate sheets might be slightly improved today for two reasons.  First, yesterdays gains were fairly sharp, so not all of the improvement made it into everyone's rates.  Second, some lenders repriced for the worse yesterday during a mid-day slump and never came back into the market.

It was reassuring to see some demand pick up for Mortgage bonds (higher demand = lower rates).  The fact that today is holding yesterday's close levels is also reassuring.  Bonds can always take drastic moves on days like today.  Be on the look out for a news headline that might cause buying in stocks.  After a couple down days, the market seems always to be just looking for an excuse to jump on stocks.  If this happens, rates could worsen today.

 On the other hand, if stocks stay with their current losses, or decline further, we may have an opportunity at some even better rates this afternoon.  Stay tuned to the major averages and the 10 year treasury for a preliminary indication.  If something has deviated greatly from the mean today, check back here for a lock/float recommendation.  Remember, in general, strong stocks are an indication to lock on days like today.  You are likely safe to float unless stocks turn positive.

Lots of consumer data is on tap for next week.  Today may be the day to lock unless you think that data will be negative to the same degree as the Philly Fed Survey.