Mortgage rates rose last week as the housing market continues to lack supply, leading to lower mortgage demand. Total mortgage application volume fell 6.5% last week compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index.
Beneath the headline, the average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balances ($657,200 or less) increased to 5.40% from 5.33%. Refinance demand fell 6% last week and was 75% lower than the same week last year.
Stocks fell Wednesday as investors were weighed down by more warnings from major companies that stoked fears that economic growth may be slowing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 250 points, while the S&P 500 slipped 1% lower and the Nasdaq Composite lost about 0.75%.
On Thursday, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler outlined pontential rule changes to the way Wall Street handles retail stock trades in the aftermath last year's of the meme stock craze. The plan would require trading firms to directly compete to execute trades from retail investors in effort to boost competition.
Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -1.08% or -44.91 points to 4,115.77
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.81% or -269.24 points to 32,910.90
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -0.73% or -88.96 points to 12,086.27
Roku soars on report of Netflix acquisition talks:
Shares of Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) jumped more than 12% on Wednesday following speculation that the streaming company was holding talks to be acquired by Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) stemming from a Business Insider report.
However, major Wall Street firms have already casted doubt on the possible acquisition, with JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) analysts calling the deal "highly unlikely," as it would cause a major shift for Netflix towards ad-supported content.
"NFLX's ad efforts are still in the very early stages," the analysts wrote in a note. "We'd be surprised if NFLX made an acquisition of this magnitude, essentially shifting the platform from no ads to 'all-in' on [Advertising-based Video On Demand] over the span of a few months... We think it's more likely that NFLX builds its ad offering on its own or through smaller M&A deals--similar to its gaming effort."
Mortgage rates rise last week as demand falls:
Mortgage rates rose last week as the housing market continues to lack supply, leading to lower mortgage demand. Total mortgage application volume fell 6.5% last week compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index.