US Mortgage Applications Fall

News Event

From Trading Economics: Mortgage applications in the US declined 9.4 percent in the week ended November 25th 2016 from the prior period, following a 5.5 percent rise in the previous week, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed. It is the biggest decline in 18 weeks as applications to purchase a home edged down 0.2 percent and refinance applications slumped 16.2 percent. Average fixed 30-year mortgage rates rose 7bps to 4.23 percent, the highest since July of 2015.

Market Opening Wrap

In Asian Equity Markets  stocks tried to stabilize after a rocky November month drew to a close, but Wednesday's session brought new anxieties as Chinese equities and commodities tanked amid worries that Beijing's efforts to support its currency could squeeze liquidity. The decline in Chinese stocks weighed on regional markets with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan trimming early gains to be up 0.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.68 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose slightly by 0.27 percent.  The Nikkei index was flat at 18,308.48. The broader Topix rose 0.1 percent to 1,469.43 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 was flat at 13,182.36.

In Currency Markets the dollar pared earlier losses against the yen and euro and edged up on Wednesday, as U.S. debt yields resumed their ascent. The dollar rose 0.3 percent to 112.690 yen after going as low as 112.060. The euro was down 0.2 percent at $1.0632 following a rise to $1.0660. It had gained 0.3 percent overnight. The Canadian dollar last stood a touch firmer at C$1.3451 per dollar, having moved between a 9-month low of C$1.3589 and C$1.3425 in November. The Australian dollar was down 0.2 percent at $0.7465. The pound fell 0.2 percent to $1.2474 after rising 0.6 percent on Tuesday. The dollar index was up 0.2 percent at 101.14 but some distance from a 13-1/2-year high of 102.05 reached last Thursday.

In Commodities Markets oil edged up in nervous trading on Wednesday ahead of an OPEC meeting later in the day, with members of the producer cartel trying to thrash out an output cut to curb oversupply that has seen prices more than halve since 2014. International Brent crude was trading at $46.85 per barrel, up 1 percent, from its last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.6 percent, at $45.52 a barrel. Spot gold on Wednesday was nearly unchanged at $1,188.86 an ounce. Silver rose 0.6 percent to $16.67 an ounce and Platinum was up 0.2 percent at $919.60. Palladium edged up 0.1 percent to $760.70. It rose to a 1-1/2-year high of $766.20 on Tuesday.

In US Equity Markets  stocks edged higher on Tuesday as an upbeat outlook from UnitedHealth lifted health insurers, though a sharp fall in oil prices weighed on energy shares and limited the advance.  The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.12 percent, to 19,121.6, while the S&P 500 gained 0.13 percent, to 2,204.66. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.21 percent, to end at 5,379.92. The healthcare index led gains in the S&P 500, rising 0.7 percent. Shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc were up 3.6 percent after the company issued a better-than-expected earnings forecast for the coming year. Shares of Tiffany rose 3.1 percent after the jewelry company reported its first rise in sales in eight quarters.

In Bond Markets Japanese government bonds edged down on Wednesday as investors positioned for the next session's 10-year sale. The 10-year yield rose 1 basis point (bp) to 0.020 percent , though it remained shy of a nine-month high of 0.045 percent struck on Friday. December 10-year JGB futures ended down 0.07 point at 150.56.  The 20-year yield and the 30-year yield both climbed 1 bp to 0.450 percent and 0.570 percent, respectively.

Source: Institute of Trading and Portfolio Management