Friday’s bond market has opened slightly in positive territory despite no relevant data being posted this morning. Stocks may be contributing to this morning’s bond gains by showing fairly sizable losses in the major indexes. The Dow is currently down 412 points while the Nasdaq has lost 118 points. The bond market is up 2/32 (4.22%), but a reversal late in the day yesterday is going to cause this morning’s mortgage rates to be higher by approximately .125 of a discount point. If you saw an intraday increase in rates Thursday afternoon, you may see no change or a small improvement this morning, depending on the size of yesterday’s revision.

Today doesn’t appear to have anything scheduled that we need to be concerned about. We are likely seeing stocks help buoy bonds as investors remain cautious about the economy and direction of the stock markets, both here and on a global basis. This leads to funds being shifted into bonds as a safe haven from the expected volatility. Today is just a small example of that scenario, but we could see more of it in the future if stock losses continue.

Next week brings us a handful of economic reports for the markets digest. All except one are technically labeled as moderately important, although, two that are related to consumer confidence drew a stronger reaction than normal last month and may do the same next week. The most important release of the week is set for Friday when we will get the Fed’s preferred inflation readings. In addition to the data, there are also a couple of Treasury auctions midweek and a batch of Fed-member speaking engagements. There is nothing of importance scheduled for Monday, meaning we can expect weekend headlines to have the heaviest impact as the new week begins. Look for details on all of next week’s activities in Sunday evening’s weekly preview.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock 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.