TOPSHOT-US-ECONOMY-RATE-INFLATION United States Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell gave the mortgage rate market hope this week. Despite robust U.S. economic numbers, it’s “unlikely that the next policy rate move will be a hike,” he told reporters Wednesday. Government yields took the hint, diving lower across the board. That’s good news for fixed rates in the
Rising bond yields have been a key catalyst for stock drawdowns over the past year. But higher rates haven’t always been bad for stocks. In an analysis going back to 1990, BMO Capital Markets chief investment strategist Brian Belski found the S&P 500 (^GSPC) delivered an average annual return of 7.7% in months when the
Homebuilder stocks fell on Monday after a closely watched housing sentiment index broke a four-month streak of gains amid high mortgage rates. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) stayed at 51 in April, unchanged from March. To be sure, any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions