Monday's Bond Market

Monday's bond market has opened in positive territory following a weaker than expected manufacturing related report. The stock markets are also showing gains with the Dow up 114 points and the Nasdaq up 22 points. The bond market is currently up 12/32, but we will likely still see an increase in this morning's mortgage rates of approximately .250 of a discount point due to weakness late Friday.
Today's news came from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) who said that their manufacturing index for September fell to 52.0. This was lower than expected, indicating that manufacturer sentiment is waning. This is good news for bonds and mortgage rates because it could mean slowing manufacturing activity. That could ease inflation concerns and make mortgage-related bonds more attractive to investors.