Victory For Cynics as Ceasefire Rebound is Already Over

Victory For Cynics as Ceasefire Rebound is Already Over

Even though there were doubts about their scope and impact, yesterday morning's headlines introduced the prospect of some sort of ceasefire in the Iran war. Markets traded accordingly, including the "doubts" part (i.e. there was an initial rebound yesterday and an additional rebound this morning). 10yr yields have now fully erased yesterday morning's gains even though oil prices remain quite a bit lower.

Market Movement Recap
08:51 AM

Losing ground in choppy trading as oil rebounds. MBS down a quarter point and 10yr up 4.2bps at 4.389

09:54 AM

weakest levels. MBS down 11 ticks (.34) and 10yr up 6.2bps at 4.409

Latest Video Analysis

Decent Gains Amid De-Escalation Headlines

MBS & Treasury Markets
UMBS 5.0 98.14 -0.25 10YR 4.395% +0.048% 3/24/2026 10:04AM EST
MBS are now down 3/8ths on the day and more than a quarter point from the AM highs. Lenders who are already out with rates will likely have already accounted for most of the weakness. So there's limited--if any--negative reprice risk for today's rate sheets so far. But if you have access to lock yesterday's rates before today's come out, it's something to consider.   READ MORE
Today's Mortgage Rates
30YR Fixed 6.49% -0.04% 15YR Fixed 6.05% -0.02% 3/23/2026
Mortgage rates are dictated by bonds and bonds had a volatile day. During overnight trading hours, bonds suggested we should brace for the impact of even higher rates. Things changed just after 7am ET following headlines that suggested progress on the Iran war.  Although volatility continued in the ensuing hours, bonds ultimately settled in stronger territory (which is good for rates).  After ending last week above 6.5% for the first time since early September,...   READ MORE
Economic Calendar
Time Event Period Actual Forecast Prior
Tuesday, Mar 24
8:15AM ADP Employment Change Weekly 10K 9K
9:20AM NY Fed Bill Purchases 1 to 4 months (%) $8.071 billion
9:45AM Mar S&P Global Composite PMI Mar 51.4 51.9
9:45AM Mar S&P Global Services PMI Mar 51.1 51.5 51.7
9:45AM Mar S&P Global Manuf. PMI Mar 52.4 51.3 51.6
10:00AM Feb New Home Sales (%) (%) Feb
10:00AM Feb New Home Sales (ml) Feb 0.745M
1:00PM 2-Yr Note Auction (bl) 69
6:30PM Fed Barr Speech
Wednesday, Mar 25
7:00AM Mar/20 MBA Refi Index Mar/20 1341.0
7:00AM Mar/20 MBA Purchase Index Mar/20 172.9
7:00AM Mar/20 Mortgage Market Index Mar/20 347.1
8:30AM Feb Import prices mm (%) Feb 0.5% 0.2%
10:30AM Mar/20 Crude Oil Inventory (ml) Mar/20 -1.4M 6.156M
11:30AM 2-Yr Note Auction (bl) 28
11:30AM 2-Year FRN Auction (%) 0.099%
1:00PM 5-Yr Note Auction (bl) 70
4:10PM Fed Miran Speech
Read My Latest Newsletter
While the word "regime" is often seen in a geopolitical context, it's also common in financial markets. With respect to rates, the most recent regime involved steady improvement starting in May 2025 and ending 3 weeks ago. Since then, a new regime has been taking over and it kicked into high gear this week. Under the previous regime, bonds (which dictate rates) were operating on the following p... READ MORE