We haven't been shy about characterizing the potential breakaway from 2+ weeks of sideways range as a "lead off." In case it needed any explanation, this is the metaphor we use to convey a sort of cautious head-start on anticipated trading direction, just like a runner in baseball might take a lead-off from the base they're currently occupying either to steal the next base, or just be in a better position to run when the ball is hit. The range of 10yr yields and MBS prices that equate to the current "base" is 1.73-1.67 in 10's and 104-02 to 104-12 in Fannie 3.0 MBS. The lead-off then, clearly started at the end of last week and continued yesterday. It was tentative at first but became less so this morning. Fannie 3.0s ran all the way up to 104-25 and 10's hit 1.638. This was a bit too much of a lead off. The metaphorical pitcher turned and our base-runners retreated to their base. This is easily seen in the following chart of 10yr yields (note the "base" at 1.726 to 1.672 and the progressively larger lead-off leading up to today's new low and quick snap back):
Please note the timestamp in the following price table (11:05am). This was from before the sell-off that brought MBS back to yesterday's levels. The MID-DAY recap is occasionally delayed in order to facilitate a reprice alerts for our MBS Live subscribers if they're necessary in the 11am hour, and those reprice alerts will be reflected in the end-of-day "MBS RECAP." Current prices aren't quite back to these levels.
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Pricing as of 11:05 AM EST |
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Headline Consumer Confidence +68.1 vs 60.8 f'cast
'Present Situation' 60.4 vs 59.2 previous
'Jobs Hard To Get' Index 37.1 vs 35.4 previous
Reaction and considerations: The headline is positive but the employment component is still bond market friendly as Fed policy is directly linked to employment data. Also, negative employment metrics provide anecdotal evidence for Friday's NFP.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had declined in March, increased in April. The Index now stands at 68.1 (1985=100), up from 61.9 in March. The Present Situation Index increased to 60.4 from 59.2. The Expectations Index improved to 73.3 from 63.7 last month.
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was April 18.
Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: “Consumer Confidence improved in April, as consumers’ expectations about the short-term economic outlook and their income prospects improved. However, consumers’ confidence has been challenged several times over the past few months by such events as the fiscal cliff, the payroll tax hike and the sequester. Thus, while expectations appear to have bounced back, it is too soon to tell if confidence is actually on the mend.”
- New Orders 53.2 vs 53.0
- Employment 48.7 vs 44.1 previous, lowest since Dec
Market Reaction: Broadly positive for bond markets, leading to new highs on the day. "QE-Friendly" = growth down, employment down, and "prices paid" were much lower.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers reported April's Chicago Business Barometer fell 3.4 to 49.0, a 3-1/2 year low. Except for a minor gain in New Orders, all Business Activity measures weakened in April with five of seven now in contraction.
BUSINESS ACTIVITY: SUPPLIER DELIVERIES, PRICES PAID, and PRODUCTION: all lowest since 2009;
ORDER BACKLOGS: ten months of contraction in the past 12 months;
EMPLOYMENT: third month over month decline.
- 20 City HPI Year-Over-Year - +9.3 vs +9.0 forecast
- Both 20 and 10 City Year-Over-Year HPI, highest since May 2006
Data through February 2013, released today by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, showed average home prices increased 8.6% and 9.3% for the 10- and 20-City Composites in the 12 months ending in February 2013.
The 10- and 20-City Composites rose 0.4% and 0.3% from January to February. All 20 cities covered by the indices posted year-over-year increases for at least two consecutive months. In 16 of the 20 cities annual growth rates rose from the last month; Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis and Phoenix saw slight annual deceleration ranging from -0.1 to -0.4 percentage points. Phoenix continued to stand out with an impressive year-over-year return of +23.0% while Atlanta and Dallas had the highest annual growth rates in the history of these indices since 1992 and 2001, respectively.
MBS opened up 2 ticks and have added another 2 in Fannie 3.0s to sit at 104-22 currently. These are currently the official highs of the month for April and the very close to 2013 highs (only out-done by 1/3/13). Whatever the case, Treasuries and MBS are both in that "lead-off" territory where each have stepped out noticeably from their previous narrow ranges, but not so much as to prevent reentry if the tide turned.
As the US session continues, it's not the busiest morning of the week, but there are several pieces of data coming up, all in their own time slot. Employment Costs wasn't a mover at 5:30 and wasn't expected to be. Case-Shiller Home Prices coming up at 9am typically don't move the needle much either, but it has happened on occasion. The meatier data hits after the stock market opens with Chicago PMI at 9:45 (look for the pop at 9:42am from the crowd that gets the data early) and Consumer Confidence at 10am.