Mortgage Stocks Gain on GDP News

Investors drove the market higher on Thursday, cheered by positive news regarding gross domestic product growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 110 points, while 15 of 17 Mortgage Industry Equity Composite stocks closed higher.

PHH had the largest percentage gain among MIEC stocks, up almost 3%. This was the first full trading day after news broke that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is going after PHH alleging it engaged in a kickback scheme involving referrals to mortgage insurance companies.

KB Home was up 2.4%, while MGIC Investment Corp. closed almost 2% higher.

Home Loan Servicing Solutions spent much of the day trading above its Wednesday closing price, before ending the session down $0.07 per share. OceanFirst Financial lost $0.04 per share.

Astoria Financial, which reported 4Q13 results after the market closed on Wednesday, ended the session 1.7% higher.