October 15th, 2014 10:38 PM by Dale DiGennaro
Mortgage Backed Securities were up +10/32 (FNMA 30-yr 3.5 at 103.29)this afternoon, although about 20/32 below morning levels. First favorable and later unfavorable repricing was seen by some lenders that had priced more aggressively first thing this morning. That being said, rates continue to be better than we have seen them in over a year!
A number of factors contributed to a large decline in stocks and a rally in bonds, but stocks and bonds reversed most of their movement later in the day. Weaker than expected Retail Sales data reduced hopes that US consumers will carry the economy despite economic troubles around the world. Concerns about the pace of economic growth in Europe continued to increase.
Headlines about the spread of the Ebola virus also supported the shift to safer assets. One bright spot came from the Fed's Beige Book which reported modest to moderate levels of US economic growth with few signs of inflation. The Dow is down 175 points, after being down 460 points at one time.
Stay tuned.........Tomorrow, Jobless Claims, Industrial Production, Philly Fed, and the NAHB Housing index will be released.