PM Market Update

Monday’s bond market has opened in positive territory, extending Friday’s late strength. The stock markets are showing minor losses with the Dow down 30 points and the Nasdaq down 12 points.

There is nothing scheduled for release today that is relevant to mortgage rates. There are a couple of Fed members speaking in New York this morning that appear to be contributing to this morning’s gains in bonds. There is another member speaking later this afternoon that some traders will be watching, but since the subject is much more about banking than economic growth, I doubt we will see any type of reaction in bonds or mortgage rates as a result.

The first of this week’s six monthly and quarterly reports is September's Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) late tomorrow morning. This Conference Board index will be posted at 10:00 AM ET and gives us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. It is expected to show a decline in confidence from last month's reading, indicating that consumers were less optimistic about their own financial situations than last month, therefore, less likely to make a large purchase in the near future. This is good news for the bond market and mortgage rates because consumer spending fuels economic growth. Analysts are calling for a reading of approximately 80.0, down from August's 81.5 reading. The smaller the reading, the better the news it is for the bond market and mortgage rates.

Overall, there is data that is relevant to mortgage rates scheduled to be posted every day except today. I don’t see an obvious choice for most important day of the week but Wednesday has two of the six reports scheduled, including the most important of the week. So, let’s label it as likely to be most active although Friday does have two reports scheduled also. I suspect we will see changes in mortgage rates multiple days this week, but in small increments rather than sizable moves.

Float your rate and look at locking later this week.