Financial events to watch this week

This is from our internal Secondary Market Manager.

Fairly busy week expected for Real Estate data. Housing starts (Tuesday), Existing home sales report (Friday), and the FOMC meeting that begins tomorrow.  The FOMC meeting begins Tuesday and is expected keep key short-term interest rates unchanged. What will likely cause volatility in the markets is the post-meeting statement. Traders are hoping to pick up an indication of future Fed moves, particularly if the Fed expects to cut rates anytime soon. The meeting is the second of four meetings this year that last two days and will adjourn at 2:15 PM ET Wednesday. Therefore, look for afternoon changes in rates Wednesday. 

February’s Housing Starts will be released early Tuesday, but it will likely not have much of an impact on mortgage rates. It gives us a measurement of housing sector strength and future mortgage credit demand, but is usually considered to be of low importance to the financial markets. It is expected to show an increase in starts from January to February. Overall, look for Wednesday to be the most important day of the week due to the FOMC meeting. The rest of the week will likely be driven by outside factors such as stock movements. If the stock markets stage a significant rally or sell-off, we should see bonds move in the opposite direction.