Fake Headlines Moving Markets?

Fake Headlines Moving Markets?

Bonds were almost perfectly flat in the overnight session with yields holding inside a 1.5bp range. Oil prices rose initially, but recovered before the domestic session began. Part of that recovery occurred after headlines said US/Iran negotiations could make a breakthrough according to an Iranian diplomatic source. Social media quickly dubbed the news as "fake," but a legitimate version exists on ria.ru's website. So the news wasn't fake, it was just really really vague and toothless. Even so, bonds reacted to the tune of about 2bps and have been in a choppy, narrow range since then.

Market Movement Recap
08:34 AM

A hair stronger after being flat overnight. MBS up 2 ticks (.06) and 10yr yields are up nearly 1bp at 4.295

11:54 AM

MBS up 2 ticks (.06) and 10yr down half a bp at 4.298

01:43 PM

Weakest levels. MBS down nearly a quarter point and 10yr up 4.5bps at 4.349

02:31 PM

Bouncing back a bit as previous headlines have been mostly retracted. MBS still down an eighth and 10yr up 1bp at 4.313

Latest Video Analysis

Uncertainty Extended Indefinitely

MBS & Treasury Markets
UMBS 5.0 99.03 -0.12 10YR 4.325% +0.021% 4/23/2026 3:43PM EST
There were several headlines concerning Iran's leadership and negotiation team just now. We'll discuss those more in the recap in order to get this alert out more quickly. Oil/stocks/bonds are all on the move. MBS are now down 2 ticks on the day, but over 5 tick (.16) from AM highs. Negative reprice risk is increasing moderately with jumpier lenders fairly likely to pull the trigger.    READ MORE
Today's Mortgage Rates
30YR Fixed 6.32% +0.00% 15YR Fixed 5.92% +0.02% 4/23/2026
Thursday saw a continuation of the recent trend of very low volatility for mortgage rates . The average lender's top-tier 30yr fixed rates were perfectly unchanged from yesterday and in the same narrow range as the past 7 business days (6.29-6.33%).  Despite the uneventful outcome, there was some underlying market volatility mid-day following a series of war-related headlines. The news involved the status of Iran's negotiation team as well as potential indications of ...   READ MORE
Economic Calendar
Time Event Period Actual Forecast Prior
Thursday, Apr 23
8:30AM Apr/11 Continued Claims (k) Apr/11 1821K 1820K 1818K
8:30AM Apr/18 Jobless Claims (k) Apr/18 214K 212K 207K
9:45AM Apr S&P Global Services PMI Apr 51.3 50 49.8
9:45AM Apr S&P Global Manuf. PMI Apr 54.0 52.5 52.3
9:45AM Apr S&P Global Composite PMI Apr 52.0 50.3
1:00PM 5-Yr Note Auction (bl) 26
Friday, Apr 24
10:00AM Apr Consumer Sentiment (ip) Apr 47.6 53.3
10:00AM Apr U Mich conditions Apr 50.1 55.8
10:00AM Apr Sentiment: 1y Inflation (%) Apr 4.8% 3.8%
10:00AM Apr Sentiment: 5y Inflation (%) Apr 3.4% 3.2%
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The good news: mortgage rates ended the week at the lowest levels in more than a month. The puzzling news: rates fell only modestly on Friday even though the bond market said they could have fallen more. Mortgage lenders consider several factors when deciding where to set mortgage rates. By far and away, the bond market is the most important of those factors. But sometimes rates don't do exa... READ MORE