Mortgage Rates Dip by Scott Davis
Finally responding to 4 straight days of bond market gains, mortgage rates headed south on Wednesday. Bonds, on the other hand, lost some of those gains while stocks were mixed. According to Bank Rate Monitor, the 30-year and 15-year fixed rate mortgage averages dropped to 8.09% and 7.70% respectively. The one-year adjustable rate climbed to 6.66% while the 30-year jumbo rate fell to 8.38%. The yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond rose to 6.13% after the previous four days of trading had left the yield at its lowest point in 3 months. Blue chips struggled for direction on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average eventually closing down 79.11 points to 10,225.74. The Nasdaq composite, on the other hand, was led by technology issues to the biggest one-day point gain in its history, 168.21 points to close at a record high 4,550.33. Selected Stocks - Closing Prices Wednesday, February 23 | Company | Ticker | Price | Change | HomeStore.com
| HOMS
| 85
| + 8
| HomeSeekers.com
| HMSK
| 17 1/8
| + 5/8
| Cendant
| CD
| 16 15/16
| - 9/16
| Homeservices.com
| HMSV
| 13 13/16
| + 3/16
| Realco, Inc.
| RLCO
| 2 1/4
| + 1/8
| Kennedy-Wilson
| KWIC
| 8 1/2
| unch.
| E-Loan
| EELN
| 9 5/8
| - 1/2
| LendingTree
| TREE
| 13 7/8
| - 1 1/2
| Countrywide
| CCR
| 23 7/16
| + 1/16
| Vista Info
| VINF
| 5
| + 1/8
| Internet Pictures Corp.
| IPIX
| 31
| + 9/16
| Champion Enterprises
| CHB
| 7 1/16
| - 1/4
| Centex Corp.
| CTX
| 20 8/8
| + 1/8
| Pulte Corp.
| PHM
| 17 1/16
| - 1/4
|
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