Friday's bond market has opened in negative territory following a stronger than expected consumer sentiment report and an uneventful morning in stocks. The stock markets are mixed with the Dow up 18 points and the Nasdaq up 1 point. The bond market is currently down 16/32, which will likely push this morning's mortgage rates higher.

Today's only relevant economic news was the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment for April. It was expected to show a reading of 58.5, but today's release revealed a reading of 61.9. While this is not a figure that is likely to drastically move the markets, it does indicate that consumers are more optimistic about their own financial situations than some had thought. That can be considered a negative for bonds because it is believed to mean that consumers are more apt to make large purchases in the near future.

Fed Chairman Bernanke will be making a speech today, but it is not likely to affect the markets or mortgage rates. There is no Q & A scheduled following the speech and I doubt the prepared text will say anything that will be of much interest to the markets.

Next week is fairly light in terms of economic releases. It does bring us a handful of reports but only one can be considered of high importance. The two housing reports may create some interest if they show an unexpected rise in new and existing home sales, but this week's data was clearly more important to the market and mortgage rates.

Unlike many, there is data for release this Monday. March's Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) will be posted late Monday morning. It attempts to predict economic activity over the next three to six months, but is thought of as only a moderately important report.

                    Mel