• Wednesday’s mortgage rates should be lower by approximately .250 - .375 of a discount point, due partly to some bond strength late yesterday. The bond market is currently up 7/32 (4.33%).

 • Stocks are showing early strength also, pushing the Dow higher by 321 points and the Nasdaq up 240 points.

 • There is no relevant economic data scheduled for release today.

 • We are seeing the markets react to news of a 15-point plan from the U.S. that has been delivered to Iran. President Trump said that the U.S. and Iran are in negotiations, but Iran hasn’t clearly confirmed that. Still, since the plan has been offered, the markets are taking it as progress towards ending the war.

 • Despite today’s news, this has been a rollercoaster of positive and negative headlines over the past couple of weeks, so we have to be prepared for what the next one may say.

 • Today’s only relevant scheduled event is the 1:00 PM ET results announcement from the 5-year Treasury Note auction. Good news for the broader bond market and mortgage pricing would be a strong sale, meaning there was a high level of demand from investors. This scenario will be repeated tomorrow when 7-year Notes are sold.

 • Tomorrow brings us the release of last week’s unemployment figures. They are expected to show 210,000 new claims for jobless benefits were filed, up from the previous week’s 205,000 initial filings. Rising claims are a sign of employment sector weakness that makes bonds more appealing to investors, so a larger number would be favorable news for rates.

 • Also tomorrow is a handful of Fed-member speeches that will be watched. They all come during afternoon and evening hours, so we may not see a reaction to any surprises until Friday morning’s open. We aren’t expecting to see a strong reaction to the speeches, but with so little in terms of economic data scheduled this week, we could see a minor response to something that may not usually impact bond trading.

 • Visit our Daily Commentary page on our site for detailed explanations on current news that is relevant to mortgage rates.

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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.