MBS RECAP: Best Day in 2-Month For MBS on Ukraine Headlines

By: Matthew Graham •

Very little was happening before 11:11am today.  Overnight markets were calm and sideways.  Treasuries and MBS began the day in unchanged territory.  Even the week's first meaningful economic data had a less-than-meaningful impact on trading levels. 

Then came the Ukraine/Russia headlines.

Keep in mind that any new info in the geopolitical realm today would arrive against an already tense backdrop created by an upcoming referendum on Sunday to decide whether or not Crimea should rejoin Russia.  Headlines from Secretary of State Kerry added fuel to the fire, indicating a "serious series of steps" that will be taken if the referendum happens as well as contingencies in place in case Russian forces move farther into Ukraine.

Stocks began selling-off rapidly and bond yields rolling downhill just after that.  MBS took part as well and both sides of the market moved away from risk (bond prices up, stock prices down), solidly until the noon hour.  There was no push back against the rally--just a flattening that ultimately gave way to a bit more of a rally into the late afternoon.

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
97-04 : +0-20
FNMA 3.5
101-08 : +0-17
FNMA 4.0
104-18 : +0-12
Treasuries
2 YR
0.3380 : -0.0280
10 YR
2.6472 : -0.0788
30 YR
3.5932 : -0.0748
Pricing as of 3/13/14 4:26PMEST
Today's Reprice Alerts and Updates
A recap of Alerts and Updates provided to MBS Live subscribers.
3:27PM  :  If you Haven't Seen a Reprice Yet, You Probably Will
11:58AM  :  ALERT ISSUED: Prices Surge on Ukraine/Russia Headlines; More Reprice Potential
10:29AM  :  MBS Move Into Positive Territory; Some Reprice Potential Already
8:52AM  :  Bond Markets Weaker Following Stronger Economic Data
MBS Live Chat Highlights
A recap of featured comments from the Live Discussion on the MBS Live Dashboard.
Michael Ullmann  :  "for those of you that dont work for large banks, do your processors order WVOE's and VOR's?"
Hugh W. Page  :  "absolutely"
Jon Bodan  :  "yes, you really don't want the MLO doing it. Too much opportunity for fraud."
Matt Hodges  :  "we can't touch them"
Andy Pada, Jr.  :  "if a borrower hates his servicer so much that he is willing to refinance and get the same payment just to get away from that servicer, is that a viable tangible benefit?"
Andy Pada, Jr.  :  "from FHA to conventional"
Matt Hodges  :  "you could argue better MI, dropping it earlier, rather than arguing payment"