• Wednesday’s mortgage rates should be approximately .125 of a discount point higher due to bond weakness late yesterday. If you saw an intraday increase in rates before closing yesterday, you may see little change in this morning’s pricing. The bond market is currently up 2/32 (4.78%).

 • Stocks are rallying with the Dow up 339 points and the Nasdaq up 67 points.

 • The first of this morning’s two economic releases came at 8:15 AM ET when payroll processor ADP posted their August private-sector employment data. They announced 38,000 new jobs were added by private-sector employers, falling short of the 45,000 that was expected. This was the lowest monthly number since January, maintaining concerns about the employment sector that may prevent the Fed from raising key rates soon.

 • July's Factory Orders data was the second release of the morning. The 10:00 AM ET release revealed a 0.9% increase in new orders at U.S. factories for durable and non-durable goods. This was a larger than expected rise in orders, but the durable goods portion of this report was previously released last week, so it doesn’t carry a high level of importance in the markets.

 • The Federal Reserve will release their Beige Book report at 2:00 PM ET this afternoon. This report, which is simply named after the color of its cover, details current economic conditions in the U.S. by Federal Reserve region through the eyes of their business contacts. It is believed to be a key source of data when the Fed meets for their FOMC meetings.

 • If the Beige Book reveals any significant surprises or changes from the previous release, we may see movement in the markets and mortgage pricing as analysts adjust their theories about what the Fed will do regarding a potential rate hike at their September 15-16 FOMC meeting. Good news for mortgage rates would be weaker activity with signs of easing inflation that lowers the possibility of the Fed raising key short-term interest rates in the immediate future.

 • Tomorrow has three more pieces of data set for release, starting with last week’s unemployment update at 8:30 AM ET. Analysts are expecting it to show 205,000 new claims for jobless benefits were filed last week, up from the previous week’s 203,00 initial filings. Rising claims are a sign of weakness in the employment sector, so the larger the number tomorrow the better the news for bonds and mortgage rates.

 • Next will be revised 2nd Quarter Productivity numbers that will also be posted at 8:30 AM ET. Strong levels of productivity in the workplace allow the economy to expand without inflation concerns. It is expected to show a 1.4% increase in productivity, unchanged from the initial estimate, while the labor costs reading increase held at 1.3%. Good news for the bond market and mortgage rates would be a solid upward revision in productivity and lower labor costs.

 • The third release of the day will come from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), who will release their non-manufacturing index (aka service index) at 10:00 AM ET. This is the sister report of yesterday's ISM manufacturing index with this version tracking business executive opinions on conditions in the service sector rather than manufacturing. It is expected to show a reading of 54.4 up slightly from July's 54.1. Good news for mortgage rates would be a much weaker than predicted reading.

 • 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... 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.