Mortgage Rates Hit Two Year High by Scott Davis
Even though stock and bond prices rallied on Monday ahead of the Fed meeting, mortgage rates continued their brisk climb. According to Bank Rate Monitor, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage jumped to 8.34%, while the 15-year fixed rate rose to 8.02%, both easily at their highest levels in over two years. The one-year adjustable and 30-year jumbo rates climbed to 6.94% and 8.65% respectively. Treasury bond yields dipped a little on Monday in light trading as traders looked ahead to Tuesday's release of the CPI figures for April as well as the Fed decision on interest rates. The yield on the benchmark 15-year note dropped to 6.45%, while the 30-year bond yield fell to 6.16%. Analysts predict the Fed will raise interest rates a half point instead of the usual quarter point increase because of some recent alarming inflation statistics. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 198.41 points to close at 10,807.78, while the Nasdaq composite ended 78.59 points to the plus side at 3,607.65. Selected Stocks - Closing Prices Monday, May 15 | Company | Ticker | Price | Change | HomeStore.com
| HOMS
| 30 3/16
| + 1 29/64
| HomeSeekers.com
| HMSK
| 4 11/16 | - 11/32
| Cendant
| CD
| 14 3/8
| + 3/16
| Homeservices.com
| HMSV
| 9 1/2
| + 1/8
| Realco, Inc.
| RLCO
| 2 1/8
| unch.
| Kennedy-Wilson
| KWIC
| 4 9/16
| unch.
| E-Loan
| EELN
| 5 1/8
| - 11/32
| LendingTree
| TREE
| 7 11/16
| - 1/8
| Countrywide
| CCR
| 27 11/16
| + 11/16
| Vista Info
| VINF
| 2 7/8
| - 1/16
| Internet Pictures Corp.
| IPIX
| 12 7/16
| - 7/8
| Champion Enterprises
| CHB
| 6 1/2
| + 1/8
| Centex Corp.
| CTX
| 23 3/4
| - 1/16
| Pulte Corp.
| PHM
| 22 5/16
| - 3/8
|
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