Tuesday's bond market has opened in positive territory again despite early stock gains. The stock markets are rebounding from yesterday's sell off with the Dow up approximately 100 points and the Nasdaq up 24 points. The bond market is currently up 6/32.

The Conference Board reported late this morning that March's Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) rose this month. The reading of 26.0 was a small increase from February's revised reading of 25.3, but was lower than forecasts had called for. However, the difference was not enough to affect mortgage rates.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) will release their manufacturing index late tomorrow morning. This important index gives us an important measurement of manufacturer sentiment by surveying trade executives. A reading below 50 means more surveyed executives felt business worsened during the month than those who said it had improved. This month's report is expected to show a reading of 36.0, which would be a slight increase from February's reading of 35.8. This means that analysts think business sentiment remained close to last month's level.

February's Factory Orders will be posted early Thursday morning. This data is similar to last week's Durable Goods Orders report, except that this report includes orders for both durable and non-durable goods. It is also the least important of this week's four reports. Unless it varies greatly from forecasts of a 0.3% decline, I suspect that it will be a non-factor in the mortgage market, especially with Friday's Employment report being posted.

                   Mel