Mortgage Stocks Join in Rally

One day after stocks lost ground in a big sell-off, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 247 points Aug. 29, or 1.90%, as investors searched for bargains amid increasing optimism about a possible rate cut by the Federal Reserve Board.Mortgage-related stocks joined in the recovery, with some hard-hit companies gaining the most ground. Accredited Home Lenders saw its stock price rise 0.39% on the day, or 6.68%. Delta Financial Corp. saw its stock rise 4% on the day. Countrywide Financial Corp. climbed 2.59%, while Fannie Mae saw gains of more than 3%. But the mortgage insurance stocks saw mixed results, with Radian's stock price falling 3% and Triad Guaranty's falling 14%. Analysts attributed those declines to continued concern about weakness in the housing sector.