Economic update for the week ending June 29, 2019

Stocks finish higher in a robust June - Stocks dropped slightly this week, their only weekly loss in the month of June. This week a drop in consumer confidence caused stocks to drop slightly, but drove interest rates down. Investors are also watching the start of the G20 Summit in Japan hoping for the U.S. and China to resume trade talks and reduce tariffs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 26,599.96, down 0.4% from 26,719.13 last week. It’s up 14.0%  year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,94mj1.76, down 0.3% from 2,950.46 last week.  It is up 17.3% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 8,006.24, down 0.3% from 8,031.71 last week. The NASDAQ is up 20.7% year to date. 


Treasury Bond Yields at lowest rate since 2017  - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.00%, down from 2.07% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 2.52%, down from 2.59%  last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yield yields. 
 

Mortgage rates continue to drop  - The  June 27, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 3.73%, down from 3.84%  last week.  The 15-year fixed was 3.16%, down from 3.25% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.39%, down from 3.48% last week. 


Lower mortgage interest rates lifted Nationwide home sales in May - The National Association of Realtors reported that the number of homes sold jumped 2.5% month over month in May from April’s resale home numbers. Year over year sales were down 1.1%. The median price paid for a home in the U.S. was up 4.8% from last May, the  87th straight month of year over year increases in the median price. The unsold inventory index stood at a 4.3 month supply of homes for sale. That was just slightly higher than a 4.2 month supply last May. Pending sales also increased 1.1% in May from the number of homes that went under contract in April. 
Author, 
Syd Leibovitch