Renewed Worries Over Fed Sinks Mortgage Stocks

Investors once again are worried that the Federal Reserve will end its stimulus program sooner rather than later and that affected the performance Wednesday of both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Mortgage Industry Equity Composite.

The Dow ended over 106 points lower, while 13 of the 17 MIEC stocks also closed lower than they did on Tuesday. Bank of America ended 0.97% higher, while Fidelity National Financial regained some lost ground and was 0.31% higher. The other stocks up on the day were PHH Corp. and OceanFirst Financial.

MGIC Investment Corp. posted the largest percentage loss, down 4.18%, followed by KB Home, down 2.94%, and Home Loan Servicing Solutions, down 2.82%.

As for non-MIEC stocks in the news lately, FNF acquisition target Lender Processing Service was down $0.14 per share to $33.35. And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both hid with a big thud. Fannie lost $1.18 to close at $2.90, while Freddie lost $1.14 to close at $2.61.