Friday’s bond market has opened up slightly following no economic surprises and a drop in oil prices. Stocks look to close out the week on a strong positive note. The Dow is up 312 points while the Nasdaq has gained 271 points. The bond market is currently up 1/32 (4.36%), which should allow for a modest improvement in this morning’s mortgage rates.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) gave us today’s only newsworthy economic data with the release of their April manufacturing index. They announced a reading of 52.7 that was unchanged from March’s reading, indicating manufacturer sentiment was flat. Forecasts were calling for a small increase from March’s reading. Therefore, we can label this report slightly favorable for bonds and mortgage rates.

Next week has a much lighter calendar than this week did with fewer relevant economic reports and other scheduled events. It begins with a moderately important Factory Orders report Monday morning and ends with two Friday morning releases, one being the almighty monthly Employment report. Now that the FOMC meeting is behind us, members are free to speak publicly about relevant events such as the economy, geopolitical events and monetary policy. We should see plenty of those speeches next week, along with many more corporate earnings announcements. Look for details on 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... 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.