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Stock markets ended the week almost unchanged to close out a banner year – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 37,689.40, up 0.2% from 37,385.37 last week. It ended the year up 12.7%. The S&P 500 closed the week at 4,769.89, up 0.7% from 4,754.63 last week. It ended the year up 24.2%. The Nasdaq closed the week at 15,011.35, up 0.1% from 14,992.67 last week. It closed 43.4% up in 2023. U.S. Treasury bond yields – The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 3.88% down slightly from 3.90% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.03%, down slightly from 4.05% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields. Mortgage rates are at their lowest point since June – Every Thursday Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of December 28, 2023, were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.61%, down from 6.67% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.93%, down from 5.95% last week. Rates dropped further at the end of the week. Next week’s 30-year should be close to 6.5%. The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.
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