Friday's bond market has opened in positive territory following noticeable stock losses. The stock markets are in negative territory following concerns about financial sector and rising oil prices. The result is the Dow down 127 points and the Nasdaq down 38 points. The bond market is currently down 16/32, but we likely will see little change in this morning's mortgage rates due to weakness in bonds late yesterday.

There is no relevant economic data being posted today. As expected, stock prices are influencing bond trading. As long as the stock markets do not stage a rally and recover their early losses, I am expecting bond prices to remain fairly calm and mortgage rates to stay at this morning's levels. If the major stock indexes fall further, we may see enough improvement in bonds for mortgage rates to revise lower this afternoon.

Next week is fairly busy with economic releases, not only in terms of the number of reports scheduled for relea se, but also the importance of some of them. We will see data on consumer confidence, manufacturing sector strength, housing sales and the final reading of the 2nd Quarter GDP. We also have the next FOMC meeting to be concerned about that will likely bring volatility to the markets and mortgage rates.

There is no relevant economic data scheduled for release Monday, but Tuesday does bring one of the more important reports of the week. Monday is also the only day of the week with no relevant news or data scheduled to be posted. Look for more details on next week's events in Sunday'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... Lock if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Lock if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were finan cing 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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