MBS RECAP: 3/2/2012

By: Matthew Graham
MBS Live: MBS RECAP
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FNMA 3.5
103-12 : +0-05
FNMA 4.0
105-09 : +0-03
FNMA 4.5
106-19 : +0-01
FNMA 5.0
107-30 : -0-02
GNMA 3.5
104-31 : +0-09
GNMA 4.0
107-24 : +0-04
GNMA 4.5
108-31 : +0-01
GNMA 5.0
110-10 : -0-01
FHLMC 3.5
103-05 : +0-06
FHLMC 4.0
104-31 : +0-04
FHLMC 4.5
106-08 : +0-01
FHLMC 5.0
107-20 : -0-02
Pricing as of 4:03 PM EST
Afternoon Market Updates
A recap of MBS Market Updates provided by MND Analysts and streamed live to the MBS Live Dashboard.
1:46PM  :  The Best Kind of "Boring Day" for MBS: Low Volatility Rally
There's really nothing to report since this morning. We expected a quiet session and we're getting one, but it's our favorite version of "quiet" where MBS have unassumingly plodded along in generally strong fashion, but not so strong as to arouse concern of a bounce back.

Even then, the day is essentially over if volume is any indication, which surged into the 1015am Fed buybacks in 25yr+ Treasuries and has been tapering off ever since. 10yr yields are coasting out the door just under 1.98 having already put in the most important technical ceiling bounce at 2.014 (long term trend channel support) and MBS are trading over the important 103-10 pivot point, effectively REJECTING the breakout test from yesterday.

One can either thank Spain for this (both their lousy economy and their petulance about telling the EU how they'll fix their lousy economy) or simply chalk it up to yesterday's sell-off running it's course in the technical framework--i.e. "play the range until the range plays you."

If you didn't catch it earlier or elsewhere, more details about Spain are in the following link as well as a visual explanation about what we mean when we say yesterday's sell-off may have ran its course in the technical framework. (Particularly, note the intermediate term Treasury chart with the very regular sideways range with evenly spaced bounces along highs and lows. Was it just time for a bounce?)
Featured Market Discussion
A recap of the featured comments from the Live Discussion on the MBS Live Dashboard.
John Paul Mulchay  :  "REPRICE: 2:36 PM - Sun West Mortgage Better"
Ira Selwin  :  "It's an investor overlay - Encompass doesn't have the form, so you'll need to create it."
Ira Selwin  :  "haha I got it for ya"
Ira Selwin  :  "Got stipped by FAMC eh Steve?"
Steven Stone  :  "does anybody have a copy of this new flood insurance disclosure required for apps dated after 1/1/12?"
Jason Roaldson  :  "MG, was that article a joke, created for our amusement?"
B-C  :  "its like a high school kids class assignement, write an essay on what you would do if you were president"
B-C  :  "MG is that article serious?"
Matthew Graham  :  "you guys/gals will have a field day with this... I still don't know what to say: http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?sectionID=148&newsID=15068"
Matthew Graham  :  "volume isn't light enough to be dismissed any more. pretty close, but not "inconsequential" at this point"
Mike Drews  :  "if they rally holds through close, is it truly a confirmed break with volume as light as it is MG"