MBS Live: MBS Afternoon Market Summary

Tough day for the modern era of ultra-low rates in ultra-compressed ranges.  It feels like a long time until July 5th NFP and even longer until September's FOMC festivities.  The path between here and there is tremendously uncertain, even if it stands a good chance to get good guidance from NFP.  For now, however, the outlook is clouded by the smoke that hasn't yet cleared from the battlefield.  A long-standing bastion that many grizzled old warriors didn't think they'd be defending just yet--2.40% 10yr yields--was already swarming with enemy troops by the time trading started.  2.471 is the new high, and it let us know right from the get-go that all bets are off in terms of that long-term range.  What we do know is that trading is "low conviction" at the moment, and to offer up the same imagery we've used so many times after big moves, we're at that stage where we've just been rocked by a series of explosions.  This most recent one stands the best chance so far to be the end of the enemy bombardment, but we're too shell-shocked to even stand at the moment and too scared to call out for surviving comrades just yet.  Lots of traders are waiting for other traders to make more convicted moves before making their own.  That kind of uncertainty is a hallmark factor in perfectly triangular movements after a big break, as seen in the following chart.  No one REALLY knows what's going to happen next, but we've been beaten so badly it's almost easier to hope than fear any more.


MBS Pricing Snapshot
Pricing shown below is delayed, please note the timestamp at the bottom. Real time pricing is available via MBS Live.
FNMA 3.0
98-06 : -0-12
FNMA 3.5
101-20 : -0-11
FNMA 4.0
104-04 : -0-11
FNMA 4.5
106-03 : -0-04
GNMA 3.0
99-03 : -0-20
GNMA 3.5
102-13 : -0-19
GNMA 4.0
104-15 : -0-19
GNMA 4.5
106-06 : -0-07
FHLMC 3.0
97-30 : -0-11
FHLMC 3.5
101-15 : -0-11
FHLMC 4.0
103-31 : -0-12
FHLMC 4.5
105-14 : -0-03
Pricing as of 4:05 PM EST
Afternoon Reprice Alerts and Updates
Below is a recap of instant Reprice Alerts and updates issued via email and text alert to MBS Live subscribers this afternoon.

3:27PM  :  ALERT ISSUED: Positivity into PM Hours. One Step at a Time
Do not look directly at rallying MBS prices...
Rallying MBS prices are easily frightened and may retreat if spooked.
Let us not speak of rallying MBS prices lest they become self-conscious.
If rallying MBS prices start to exude a warm green glow, this does not mean they are dangerous.

Seriously though... green is still 9 ticks away in Fannie 3.5s, but MBS prices are rallying as 10's have managed to hold off a break above 2.45. Volume is a bit lighter into the post-pit-close hours, but we'll take what we can get at this point.

Fannie 3.5s are up to 101-22 (down 9 on the day) and 10's are challenging 2.40 presently. Stocks have left the building. Nothing behind this but tradeflows (which isn't a bad thing, but will be a more meaningful thing when liquidity improves).
1:29PM  :  ALERT ISSUED: Incremental Increas in Negative Reprice Risk
Not that it ever went away, but now reprice risk is probably even more pronounced than it had been. 10's are up to 2.44 and Fannie 3.5s are down to 101-12+. Fannie 4.0s are down to 104-01. Equities are selling off too. No one wants to be long on anything and liquidity is still a serious problem despite high volume. If you haven't seen a negative reprice yet, you likely will, and in cases of the "quicker crowd" of lenders, maybe round 2 (or 3?). As we said earlier: more variation in lender strategies, less predictable reprice behavior, and volatility reigns supreme.
12:22PM  :  ALERT ISSUED: Ongoing Negative Reprice Risk
As an update to the last alert the 101-20 barrier as been broken and prices are having a hard time moving back above. Several negative reprices have come across and more are possible while prices remain in this zone. As a general warning for the foreseeable future, price action is volatile and lender-specific reprice behavior will be less predictable than normal, so err on the side of caution when in doubt (most lenders will be doing the same).
11:32AM  :  ALERT ISSUED: Volatility Continues, Wary of Treasury Resistance
Keep an eye on the gap in 10yr yields between yesterday's highs and this morning's lows (2.35-2.36). If that continues to offer a floor of resistance for yields, MBS will likely have a hard time making meaningful progress into positive territory today, though a 1:1 ratio can't be assumed in this environment.

For now, it's offered one resistance bounce and with 10's back up to 2.3951, MBS are back down 8 ticks from previous levels. That puts Fannie 3.5s down 9 on the day at 101-22. Anything below 101-20 gets into a range characterized by higher probable volatility, and thus higher reprice risk. Lenders pricing after 10am would be at the higher risk in that case.

All that said, much is dependent on an individual lender's strategy right now. Some lenders will be over-hedged against the volatility and thus better able to ride it out without reprices. Others will attempt to keep closer pace with market movement (more former than latter though). Bottom line: keep an eye on rate sheet print time and the gap in prices vs the previous sheet print time.
Live Chat Featured Comments
A recap of the featured comments from the MBS Live Dashboard's Live Chat feature, utilized by hundreds of industry professionals each day.

Frank Guirguis  :  "REPRICE: 3:50 PM - Provident Funding Better"
Dan Clifton  :  "REPRICE: 2:19 PM - Platinum Mortgage Worse"
Dan Clifton  :  "REPRICE: 2:18 PM - NYCB Worse"
Steve Chizmadia  :  "REPRICE: 2:10 PM - Pinnacle Worse"
Matthew Graham  :  "It's a messy, confused range for Treasuries. Very scary, very shaky. A lot of discomfort brought on by the fact that we're above 2.40 and have limited technical precedent. Volatility is extreme. I don't think we can rule anything out just yet, but I think most are hoping to consolidate here with bigger moves reserved for bigger instances of data and events. By the time NFP rolls around, we could be talking about 2.6+ or be well under 2.20 again."
Edgar  :  "MG - if we break above this morning's highs....is it just going to run wild? Or is there some fight in the above 2.45 level on the 10 year?"
Rob Clark  :  "REPRICE: 1:41 PM - Stearns Lending Worse"
Rob Clark  :  "REPRICE: 1:41 PM - Provident Funding Worse"
Craig LaBruno  :  "REPRICE: 1:40 PM - 360 Mortgage Worse"
Joe Moran  :  "REPRICE:12:46 -Greentree- WORSE"
Walter Hoskins  :  "REPRICE: 12:46 PM - Fifth Third Mortgage Worse"
Rob Clark  :  "REPRICE: 12:40 PM - Provident Funding Worse"
Kevin Burke  :  "PLUG for MBS Live from a Consumer / Borrower: I've been floating for a few weeks because my closing was > 30 days out. Yesterday was 29 days from closing. Between this Chat and immediate access to MBS Info, I'm extremely happy that I locked at 1:55 pm yesterday on a 30 yr. conventional @ 410k. While things may improve, it doesn't seem likely that will happen before I close. Thank you all for the dialogue! Confident you saved me a few bucks!"

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