Monday’s bond market has opened fairly flat following the three plus day holiday weekend. This morning’s economic data was good news for the bond market but weaker than expected reports that were posted Friday when the markets were closed are limiting this morning’s improvements. The stock markets are also having an uneventful morning with the Dow up 6 points and the Nasdaq down 11 points. The bond market is currently up 1/32, which may lead to a very slight improvement to mortgage rates if comparing to Thursday’s pricing.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) gave us today’s only relevant economic data with the release of their manufacturing index for March. They announced a reading of 51.3 late this morning that was noticeably lower than forecasts of 54.0 and February’s 54.2. This indicates that fewer surveyed manufacturers felt business improved during the month than did in February, hinting at manufacturing sector weakness. The reading remained above the benchmark growth indicator of 50.0, but is very close to falling below that level. Therefore, we should consider this data favorable for the bond market and mortgage rates.
Tomorrow’s only relevant data is February's Factory Orders at 10:00 AM ET. This Commerce Department report is similar to last week's Durable Goods Orders report, except it includes orders for both durable and non-durable goods. It will give us another measurement of manufacturing sector strength, but is one of the week’s less important reports. Unless it varies greatly from forecasts of a 2.5% increase, I suspect that it will be a non-factor in the mortgage market tomorrow.
Overall, Friday is the biggest day of the week due to the significance of the monthly Employment report and its impact on most of the financial markets and mortgage rates. The middle part of the week should be relatively calm unless something unexpected happens overseas or in the stock movements.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) gave us today’s only relevant economic data with the release of their manufacturing index for March. They announced a reading of 51.3 late this morning that was noticeably lower than forecasts of 54.0 and February’s 54.2. This indicates that fewer surveyed manufacturers felt business improved during the month than did in February, hinting at manufacturing sector weakness. The reading remained above the benchmark growth indicator of 50.0, but is very close to falling below that level. Therefore, we should consider this data favorable for the bond market and mortgage rates.
Tomorrow’s only relevant data is February's Factory Orders at 10:00 AM ET. This Commerce Department report is similar to last week's Durable Goods Orders report, except it includes orders for both durable and non-durable goods. It will give us another measurement of manufacturing sector strength, but is one of the week’s less important reports. Unless it varies greatly from forecasts of a 2.5% increase, I suspect that it will be a non-factor in the mortgage market tomorrow.
Overall, Friday is the biggest day of the week due to the significance of the monthly Employment report and its impact on most of the financial markets and mortgage rates. The middle part of the week should be relatively calm unless something unexpected happens overseas or in the stock movements.
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