Mortgage Rates Marching Up by Scott Davis
The Fed's half point interest rate increase last week helped push mortgage rates higher. Mortgage rates have now risen for four straight weeks. According to Bank Rate Monitor, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 8.38% on Friday. The 15-year fixed rate rose to 8.09%, while the one-year adjustable rate stood at 7.08%. The 30-year jumbo rate increased to 8.686%. A stock market sell-off on Friday was not enough to rally Treasury bond prices. They yield on the benchmark 10-year note edged down to 6.52% while the 30-year bond ticked up to 6.24%. Although stocks rallied mid-week after the Fed raised short term rates a half point, concerns over future Fed actions contributed to the stock market downturn on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 150.43 points to 10,626.85 while the Nasdaq composite tanked 148.31 points to 3,390.40. Selected Stocks - Closing Prices Friday, May 19 | Company | Ticker | Price | Change | HomeStore.com
| HOMS
| 25 13/16
| - 2 3/16
| HomeSeekers.com
| HMSK
| 2 61/64 | - 49/64
| Cendant
| CD
| 15 1/8
| unch.
| Homeservices.com
| HMSV
| 9 1/2
| unch.
| Realco, Inc.
| RLCO
| 2
| unch.
| Kennedy-Wilson
| KWIC
| 4 5/8
| - 1/8
| E-Loan
| EELN
| 5 1/8
| unch.
| LendingTree
| TREE
| 6 1/2
| - 1/4
| Countrywide
| CCR
| 32 1/4
| unch.
| Vista Info
| VINF
| 2 1/2
| - 1/8
| Internet Pictures Corp.
| IPIX
| 12 7/8
| + 1/8
| Champion Enterprises
| CHB
| 6 3/16
| - 1/8
| Centex Corp.
| CTX
| 22 3/8
| - 1/8
| Pulte Corp.
| PHM
| 21 3/8
| - 1/4
|
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