Tuesday's bond market has opened relatively flat despite strong stock gains. The stock markets are showing gains after overseas markets rallied last night, pushing the Dow higher by 127 points and the Nasdaq higher by 40 points. The bond market is currently up 2/32, which will likely keep this morning's mortgage rates near yesterday's levels.

There was no important economic data posted this morning. The only data that was posted was irrelevant to the mortgage market and has not impacted mortgage rates. The same goes for tomorrow, leaving the stock markets to influence bond trading and mortgage rates. Bonds have held up well this morning considered the rally in stocks, but if the major indexes move higher we may see upward revisions to mortgage rates this afternoon.



The same will likely be the case tomorrow. If stocks rally, it is reasonable to expect bonds to falter and mortgage pricing to inch higher. If the stock markets are un able to hold onto today's gains, bonds should thrive, leading to slightly lower mortgage rates tomorrow.

The rest of the week brings us little data except for Friday's important monthly Employment report. We will get last week's unemployment numbers from the Labor Department Thursday morning, but since it tracks only a single week's worth of new claims, its impact on the markets and mortgage rates is usually minimal. Worth noting though is the fact that this Thursday's report will cover the last week of the month that Friday's monthly report will include. Therefore, a significant surprise in Thursday's numbers could cause some analysts to revise their estimates for Friday's report and may influence mortgage rates slightly.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Float if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

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