Stocks Rally

Last Week in Review:
Headline Risk Highlights Christmas Week.

The financial markets had plenty to cheer about this week. On Wednesday, Stocks rallied a stunning 1,000+ points, enjoying their best one-day gain in history and then rallied over 800 points higher intraday on Thursday, erasing a huge midday loss. All in all, a great and welcome week in what was otherwise a miserable December for Stocks. 

Typically, higher stock prices mean higher home loan rates but that wasn't the case this holiday week. Yes, Bonds moved slightly lower and home loan rates slightly higher in response to the swift Stock rally, but rates ended the week and head into 2019 near the best levels since spring. 

The high volatility in the markets is likely to continue well into 2019 as Stocks and Bonds continue to bounce around in response to the U.S. government shutdown, U.S./China tariffs, China slowdown, European issues and uncertainty around the Fed. 

Is this good news for home loan rates and housing? Inflation is in line with the Fed's expectations and bond yields in other parts of the world remain low due to slower economic growth which means that home loan rates should remain relatively low for the foreseeable future.