That Escalated Quickly

That Escalated Quickly

It would be easy to check in on the bond market at some point on Thursday afternoon and conclude there'd been precipitous escalation in the Iran war or some other big new development putting pressure on bonds (10yr yields up almost 10bps to 4.42+ and MBS down more than 5/8ths). But today's selling was remarkably linear and steady. It began in the overnight session and ramped up at 10:30am ET after a brief correction this morning. If you need a single scapegoat, it's simply "renewed escalation" after yesterday's session raised some hopes for the opposite. Looking a bit deeper, we also suspect the entire market is positioning defensively for a weekend with serious volatility potential. 

Market Movement Recap
08:31 AM

Weaker overnight and no reaction to data. MBS down a quarter point and 10yr up 4.4bps at 4.375

11:24 AM

Down 10 ticks (.31) on the day and 5 ticks (.16) from AM highs.  10yr up 4.5bps at 4.376

12:34 PM

Weakest levels. MBS down more than 3/8ths and 10yr up 7bps at 4.399

02:32 PM

More selling. MBS down 5/8ths and 10yr up 8.6bps at 4.417

Latest Video Analysis

That Escalated Quickly

MBS & Treasury Markets
UMBS 5.0 98.37 -0.07 10YR 4.345% +0.014% 3/25/2026 8:42PM EST
MBS are now down 14 ticks (.44) on the day and roughly a quarter point from the AM highs. 10yr yields are up 7bps at 4.402. There is no individual, precipitous market mover.  Oil, stocks, and bonds have been trading Iran war escalation all morning.    READ MORE
Today's Mortgage Rates
30YR Fixed 6.62% +0.14% 15YR Fixed 6.14% +0.05% 3/26/2026
After a somewhat hopeful day on Wednesday, mortgage rates are back to their same old tricks on Thursday. The tricks in question involve following the broader market reaction to the Iran war which has caused significant and almost exclusive upward movement in interest rates for the entire month of March. Average 30yr fixed rates have been at or near the highest levels in 7-8 months over the past 4 days. Today easily took them to slightly higher levels as global financial...   READ MORE
Economic Calendar
Time Event Period Actual Forecast Prior
Thursday, Mar 26
8:30AM Mar/21 Jobless Claims (k) Mar/21 210K 210K 205K
8:30AM Mar/14 Continued Claims (k) Mar/14 1819K 1850K 1857K
9:20AM NY Fed Bill Purchases 1 to 4 months (%) $8.071 billion
1:00PM 7-Yr Note Auction (bl) 44
4:00PM Fed Cook Speech
6:30PM Fed Miran Speech
7:00PM Fed Jefferson Speech
7:10PM Fed Barr Speech
Friday, Mar 27
10:00AM Mar U Mich conditions Mar 56.6
10:00AM Mar Consumer Sentiment (ip) Mar 54 56.6
10:00AM Mar Sentiment: 1y Inflation (%) Mar 3.4% 3.4%
10:00AM Mar Sentiment: 5y Inflation (%) Mar 3.2% 3.3%
11:30AM Fed Daly 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