Economic update for the week ending November 10, 2018

Economic update for the week ending November 10, 2018


Stock markets finished higher for a second straight week - Stocks markets have gained 5% in the last two weeks. That has made up about 1/2 of October’s drop. We are now just 5% below the all time highs set in September. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 25,989.30, up  from 25,270.23 last week. It is up 5.1% year to date.  The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,781.01, up  from 2,723.06 last week.  It’s up 4.0% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,406.90, up from 7,356.99 last week.   It’s up 7.3% year to date. 
 
Treasury Bond Yields slightly lower this week -  The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 3.19%, down from 3.22% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 3.40%, down from 3.46% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. 
 
Mortgage rates were higher this week - The November 8, 2018 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.94%, up from 4.83% last week. The 15-year fixed was 4.33%, up from 4.23%  last week. The 5-year ARM was 4.14%, up from 4.04% last week. 


Author, 
Syd Leibovitch