MBS RECAP: Strong and Stable all Day

By: Matthew Graham

It was a refreshingly strong day for MBS and Treasuries.  While the gains weren't immense by any standard, they were mostly present from the start of the day and never looked to be under dire threat. 

Weak economic data helped get things going in the morning, though it was a bit of a mixed blessing for MBS watchers as the data in question was close to home (weak New Home Sales).   The 5yr Treasury auction in the afternoon was lackluster at best--certainly not in the same league as the previous two examples from the Feb-April trend, though it did compare favorably with some older examples.

Beyond that, volume and participation picked up a bit, and there was a sense that financial markets were getting back to business after an extended holiday.  In the bigger picture, today's strength acted to maintain the ongoing range.  It's not that it was at risk of being broken, but today took levels back toward the middle of the range as opposed to progressing toward higher rates.


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
97-01 : +0-09
FNMA 3.5
101-03 : +0-08
FNMA 4.0
104-10 : +0-07
Treasuries
2 YR
0.4418 : +0.0308
10 YR
2.6896 : -0.0364
30 YR
3.4693 : -0.0337
Pricing as of 4/23/14 4:21PMEST

Today's Reprice Alerts and Updates
A recap of Alerts and Updates provided to MBS Live subscribers.
2:05PM  :  Bond Markets Slip After Tepid 5yr Auction; Bouncing Back Already
10:26AM  :  Bond Markets Improve After Ugly New Home Sales Data
8:58AM  :  Bond Markets Slightly Stronger as Conditions Normalize

MBS Live Chat Highlights
A recap of featured comments from the Live Discussion on the MBS Live Dashboard.
Chip Harris  :  "So, does anyone know where I can find Freddie's stance on Stock Options? I have scouored the UW guide and can;t see it anywhere."
babyt03  :  "Not sure about Freddie, Chip.....but Fannie does not allow."
Ira Selwin  :  "search under capital gains"
Chip Harris  :  "It's not capital gains though IRA. He works for Starbucks and gets 7% of his salary in Starbucks stock"
Ira Selwin  :  "you mean he gets assets"
Chip Harris  :  "yes"
Ira Selwin  :  "right, but its not income. so wouldnt you just follow any asset for income guideline?"
Hugh W. Page  :  "If it's on his W2's, you have a history, and you can get continuance verified I would go to battle on that one."