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Market update

Monday's bond market has opened up slightly despite strong stock gains. The stock markets are rallying with the Dow up 126 points while the Nasdaq has gained 41 points. The bond market is currently up 4/32, which should improve this morning's mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point.

There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release today. Tomorrow starts this week's fairly busy calendar with the first release September's Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) at 10:00 AM ET. This Conference Board index gives us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. It is expected to show an increase from last month's reading, indicating that consumers are more optimistic about their own financial situations than last month and more likely to make large purchases in the near future. This is bad news for the bond market and mortgage rates because consumer spending fuels economic growth. Analysts are calling for a reading of approximately 57.0, up fr om August's 54.1. If we see a larger than expected increase, the bond market should move lower and mortgage rates move higher tomorrow.

Wednesday's sole report is the final revision to the 2nd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Since this data is aged now and the preliminary reading of the 3rd Quarter GDP will be released next month, I don't see this revision having much of an impact on the financial markets or mortgage pricing. It is expected to show a slight downward revision from the previous estimate of a 1.0% decline in GDP.

Overall, it is likely going to be a very active week in the markets and mortgage rates. The most important day will be Friday due to the employment report being scheduled, but tomorrow and Thursday's data can also fairly heavily influence mortgage rates. I would recommend maintaining contact with your mortgage professional the next several days.

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... Lock 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.