Daily Commentary by Larry Baer: The number of Americans standing in line to file
first-time jobless benefits fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 366,000
during the week ended February 2nd. The Labor Department
indicated claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 371,000 from an initial
reading of 368,000. Mortgage investors took a look at the weekly jobless
claims data - and yawned. Initial weekly jobless claims have ranged from
360,000 to 390,000 since the beginning of 2012. Market participants see
the relatively flat trend in claims as an indication layoffs have slowed -
while hiring remains anemic.
For the balance of
the day the directional trend of mortgage interest rates will be most
influenced by trading activity in the stock markets. Lower stock prices
will tend to support steady to perhaps fractionally lower rates while higher
stock prices will likely exert some modest upward pressure on mortgage rates.
THE
MARKET IS ALWAYS RIGHT! . YOU AND I ARE SOME OF THE TIME
