HousingWire’s exclusive list of mortgage and housing stocks continued to steadily rise Friday after a quiet but positive day on Wall Street.
The HW 30 rose 0.71%, falling in line with improvements in the S&P 500, which was up 0.34%, and the Nasdaq, which rose 0.29%.
Meanwhile, housing-related stocks are still riding higher after Federal Reserve chair nominee, Janet Yellen, hinted at her potential plans to hold off on the tapering of mortgage-backed securities and Treasury purchases until the economy shows stronger signs of improvement.
While this week posted some signs of strength in Yellen’s testimony and unemployment claims, the recovery still has a ways to go before posting signs of a lasting recovery.
As noted on Thursday, Lindsey Piegza, managing director and chief economist with Sterne Agee, said, the economy is in a period of waiting. Two months with small pockets of strength is not enough to show sustainability, she added.
According to the Department of Labor, jobless claims dropped by 2,000 filings to 339,000 applications for the week ending Nov. 9, compared to the previous week's revised figure of 341,000 claims.
When taking a look at the big banks, Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) ended the day in positive territory, up 0.84%, 0.86% and 1.03%, respectively.
Mortgage servicing companies posted mixed reviews, with Nationstar Mortgage Holdings (NSM) falling 1.16% and Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN) rising 0.38%.
