If the benchmark 10-year Treasury is any indication, mortgage rates may be heading down again.
On Tuesday morning, after stocks sold off here and overseas in the wake of the Japanese earthquake, the rate-indicative 10-year bond experienced a significant drop. The bond, which had been at levels closer to 3.35% Monday, dropped to levels near 3.25% early Tuesday morning but then began inching up toward 3.28% by early afternoon.
At mid-day the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off about 160 points. However, certain home builder and mortgage stocks were up slightly. The National Association of Home Builders reported that after four consecutive months hovering at the same low level, builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved in March.
Meanwhile, Sheraz Mian, a director of research at Zacks, said in a Tuesday morning report that the nuclear concerns stemming from recent natural disasters in Japan were temporarily more of a driver for the U.S. market than the Fed meeting slated for later in the day. He said he does not expect the Fed to move short-term interest rates or make any changes to its bond purchase program at that meeting.
