Tuesdays bond market has opened in positive territory despite stock market gains. The Dow is currently up 47 points while the Nasdaq has gained 7 points. The bond market is currently up 4/32, which will likely improve this mornings mortgage rates by approximately .125 of a discount point.

There is no relevant economic news scheduled for release today or tomorrow. Therefore look for the stock markets to contribute to bond market direction. Also worth noting are several members of the Federal Reserve making public speeches this week. At any time one those speeches could cause movement in the markets and mortgage rates if they give an indication of future Fed moves.

The only other relevant report scheduled for release this week will be posted Friday morning. The Labor Department will post Marchs Employment report, giving us the U.S. unemployment rate and the number of jobs added or lost. This is an extremely important report to the financial and Charlotte mortgage markets. It is expected to show no change in the unemployment rate of 4.8% and approximately 200,000 jobs added to the economy during the month. The ideal scenario for the bond market and mortgage rates would be an increase in the unemployment rate and a smaller than expected number of new jobs.

Overall, Friday is the most important day of the week wit h the employment numbers being released. In between today and Friday we should see fairly calm days as long as the stock markets dont stage significant rallies or a sell-off. With bond yields having moved higher in the past month, we should see bonds become more appealing to institutional investors. This may brings funds into the bond market, leading to higher prices and lower mortgage rates.

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

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