Greetings! Here is your daily mortgage report compliments of Roger Hunt/ Private Mortgage Advisors (an affiliate of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.) 650.796.0326 Rates are still moving lower. Give us a call for today's low rates!  ...........

       Monday's bond market has opened in positive territory following early stock losses.  The stock markets are starting the week off in negative ground with the Dow down 80 points and the Nasdaq down 27 points.  The bond market is currently up 14/32, which will likely improve this morning's mortgage rates by approximately .250 of a discount point.

     This week brings us the release of only two pieces of economic news that are relevant to mortgage rates.  It is another holiday-shortened week with the New Years Day holiday Thursday, so the data may have a heavier impact on trading than usual if it varies from forecasts by much.  The bond market will close early Wednesday and possibly Friday as they did last week.  With that type of schedule, many traders will not be working Wednesday or Friday, so any unexpected news or data may lead to a larger than usual reaction in the markets.

     There is no relevant news scheduled for today.  The first important release comes late tomorrow morning when the Conference Board will post its Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for December. This is a pretty important release because it measures consumer willingness to spend. If consumers are more confident in their personal financial situations, they are more apt to make large purchases. Since consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy, any related data is watched closely by market participants and can have a significant influence on mortgage rate direction. Current forecasts are calling for a minor increase confidence from November's reading of 44.9.  Analysts are expecting tomorrow's release to show a reading of 45.2.

     The financial markets will be closed Thursday in observance of the New Year's Day holiday. They will reopen Friday morning with the release of the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index. This highly important index measures manufacturer sentiment. A reading below 50 means that more surveyed manufacturing executives felt that business worsened during the month than those who felt it had improved. Analysts are currently expecting to see a 35.4 reading in this month's release, meaning that sentiment fell from November's 36.2. A smaller reading will be good news for the bond market and mortgage shoppers while a higher than expected reading could lead to higher mortgage rates Friday morning.