Prior to 8:00 this morning the US
stock indexes were weak and the 10 yr note rate was down 2 bps from yesterday’s
close, then news out of Russia changed markets.
The stock indexes were pointing to a soft open, the DJIA swung from -20 to up
62 in less than 30 minutes. Putin made a speech to both houses of parliament
saying that Russia isn't seeking "a partition of Ukraine" and would
defend the interests of Russian speakers in the country by "diplomatic and
legal means". The slightly less aggressive comments bolstered US and
Europe’s stock markets as fears of a military intervention in Ukraine has ebbed
for the moment. “We don’t want to split up Ukraine, we don’t need that,” Putin
said in a speech to parliament. “Don’t believe those who scare you with Russia,
who yell that Crimea will be followed by other regions.”
Feb housing starts fell 0.2%
against estimates of an increase of 3.3% but the
decline is because Jan starts were revised from 880K units to 909K units; Jan
starts were down 11.2%. Feb building permits increased 7.7%, better than
estimates, to 1.02 mil, the strongest increase since last October.
Single-family starts rose 0.3% in February. That was the first increase in the
category since November. Builders also reported a shortage of skilled workers
and available land in a National Association of Home Builders survey, released
yesterday. The NAHB confidence measure reflected poor market conditions for the
second straight month in March.
The Russian/Crimea situation and
fears of Russia wanting to move against Ukraine have not materialized and
presently look well contained. As noted last week,
unless bullets were flying the entire event would not last long in terms of
financial markets. The rest of today should be rather quiet ahead of the FOMC
policy statement tomorrow afternoon. The meeting is starting now and will
conclude tomorrow afternoon with the Fed announcing another $10B of tapering of
purchase of treasuries and MBSs. The policy statement will tout the continued
improvement of the economy while still worrying over employment and the low
quality of jobs being created; Janet Yellen will hold her first press
conference after the meeting.
Even though there is a small amount of movement in the market it is not enough to make any significant change in interest rates. I am suggesting that you wait until tomorrow to lock in your rate if you need the extra time. If you don't need more than 30 days then it will be a roll of the dice on if rate will change between now and tomorrow.
Follow my BLOG for all the latest news regarding real estate and mortgage rates for Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and surrounding cities in Texas.
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