MBS MID-DAY: Strong Gains For Bond Markets Before and After Data

By: Matthew Graham

Bond markets are seeing their best day of gains since last Tuesday with 10yr yields down from 2.75 to just over 2.70.  Fannie 4.0 MBS are up 10 ticks.  Roughly 3/4ths of the improvement came even before the 10am Consumer Confidence data and was potentially helped along by an even stronger move in European bond markets into their close.

Gains extended after the confidence data which, as hoped, made no mention of the weather in relation to the big drop in the 'expectations' component of the report.  This report was in a unique position to transcend the weather debate and it did so in an interesting way.

The 'present situation' index is the most direct comment on the month of the report (February in this case).  It was stronger than the previous report.  Bolstering that argument, the "jobs hard to get" index also improved.  That data flies in the face of all the weather-related skepticism, and at the very least, legitimizes the rest of the report as being relatively immune from weather-related distortions. 

So, because the most notable change in the data was the drop in the 'expectations' component, and because the other components preclude blaming the weather, we're left with a fairly negative shift in the consumer outlook standing as one of the only recent undistorted pieces of economic data available.  That conclusion is in line with the ongoing gains in Treasuries/MBS.  It's not the biggest market mover today, but it didn't stand in the way as it might have, had it been stronger.


MBS Pricing Snapshot
Pricing shown below is delayed, please note the timestamp at the bottom. Real time pricing is available via MBS Live.
MBS
FNMA 3.0
96-29 : +0-13
FNMA 3.5
101-04 : +0-11
FNMA 4.0
104-17 : +0-10
Treasuries
2 YR
0.3140 : -0.0120
10 YR
2.7014 : -0.0486
30 YR
3.6621 : -0.0499
Pricing as of 2/25/14 12:19PMEST

Morning Reprice Alerts and Updates
A recap of Alerts and Updates provided to MBS Live subscribers.
10:13AM  :  Bond Markets Rally Through Consumer Confidence Data
9:23AM  :  Home Price Gains Decelerate in December, but Still Beat Forecast
9:02AM  :  Bond Markets Flat Overnight, Stronger into Domestic Session

Live Chat Featured Comments
A recap of featured comments from the Live Discussion on the MBS Live Dashboard.
Matthew Graham  :  "RTRS- US DEC HOME PRICES IN 20 METRO AREAS +0.8 PCT SEASONALLY ADJ (CONSENSUS +0.6) VS +0.9 PCT IN NOV -S&P/CASE-SHILLER"
Matthew Graham  :  "RTRS - U.S. HOME PRICES +0.8 PCT IN DECEMBER FROM NOVEMBER - U.S. REGULATOR"
Matthew Graham  :  ""Some of the weakness reflects the cold weather in much of the country. However, higher home prices and mortgage rates are taking a toll on affordability""
Victor Burek  :  "ha! it had to be there somewhere"
Ted Rood  :  "Swear I heard that rising rates wouldn't impact housing last summer."
Matthew Graham  :  "RTRS - US FEBRUARY CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX 78.1 (CONSENSUS 80.0) VS JANUARY REVISED 79.4 (PREVIOUS 80.7) - CONFERENCE BOARD"
Matthew Graham  :  "RTRS - US CONSUMER PRESENT SITUATION INDEX IN FEB 81.7 VS JAN REVISED 77.3 (PREVIOUS 79.1) -CONFERENCE BOARD"
Matthew Graham  :  "RTRS - US CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS INDEX IN FEB 75.7 VS JAN REVISED 80.8 (PREVIOUS 81.8) - CONFERENCE BOARD"